Copy Ninja Jaune
by Streggae
Summary: The Arc clan has been for centuries a family of heroes well known throughout Remnant and Jaune aspired to be as such at a young age but fate had different plans in store. Born without Aura, he was taken by his Grandfather on his travels where he learned the Arcs most well kept secret. After a decade he as returned and at the behest of his late mentor enrolled at Beacon.DISCONTINUED
1. The New Shinobi On Campus

**Author's Notes: I Finally, Finally had the courage to release this fic after** _ **months**_ **of it sitting on my desktop. Now this Chapter will make or break this so I'll probably update when I have enough feedback from you so do a review. Flames are welcomed too but honestly I would appreciate if you tell me what was wrong with it or what you like about it.**

 **I'm actually writing this fic as something of a challenge for Hunter Of The Copy Wheel Eye by Rage Addiction, that should not be taken the wrong way because I love the fic.**

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 **Chapter 1: New Shinobi On Campus**

On Remnant it is basic knowledge that people are born with something called Aura it need only be unlocked by someone who has unlocked theirs already while reciting an oath. When it is unlocked, it will mature until a semblance is awakened in the individual. As said before this is basic knowledge that everyone should know especially those who are training to become hunters.

However, what is not known to the public is that not everyone is born with the capacity to have their Auras unlocked. These people come from a long line of individuals that are said to walked Remnant well before the creations of the four kingdoms or even from before the emergence of the Grimm itself. These people could be considered a race of their own much like the Faunus because of what they gained through the absence of Aura and by extension a Semblance as well.

For in the absence of Aura they form what is called Chakra. This natural form of energy exists in only a total of less than a 1% individuals spread throughout all of Remnant. At least that was consensus the last time they all gathered together though it is already confirmed that not all of these individuals are sociable. In fact most prefer to keep to themselves but are sometimes forced to meet and greet as the number of persons born with Chakra continue to dwindle.

Chakra is seen by most as a superior form of Aura that grants the users the properties of Dust. It is not known how or why the number persons able to utilize it as diminished. Especially since ancient text dictated that long ago everyone was able to mold it, these individuals were known at that time as, Ninja. These ninja's would mold Chakra in conjunction with the use of hand seals to form feats that would be considered impossible by today's standards or at least without the use of Dust that is.

It is actually peculiar that the number of Ninja's left all have something known as a Kekkei Genkai. It is to me a manifestation of a Ninja's Semblance but it is different in that there is only one which is unique to a set of people. These people form clans and their Kekkei Genkai is passed down through their bloodlines, however it is not always so.

Sometimes an 'Auraless' person may have a child who is born with Aura and that child may have another child who is born without it. It is also noted that more often than not there is only two persons in each in a clan that is capable of molding chakra.

A good example is my clan the Arc Clan or the house of Arc. My clan consisted of great hunters who turned out to be legendary heroes to the public. We are also famous in the small circle of Auraless for being some of the most powerful ninjas in our generation. For example my great-great grandfather made a name for himself as a renowned hunter and hero during the Grimm wars. His brother Augustus however, was essentially a 'nobody' to the public as he wasn't a hunter but in the society of Shinobi he is renowned as a great Hero.

Augustus Arc in my opinion was the true hero of the Grimm wars as he secretly led a small charge of ninja against the horde. Drawing a sizable amount of the Grimm away from his brother, in the end he died in what was known today in the ninja world as the Berukian one man massacre as he was the only one killed ensuring that all his comrades were alive and Grimm forces decimated.

This act ensured his brother's victory in the wars, not that he wasn't a good warrior because his brother was it was just that Augustus death was announced as him getting killed while trying to flee the army of Grimm. This made him seem as a coward but the true story was told to his brother and for that he will always be remembered for what he truly was to his family, a hero.

After that my family's bloodline continued, although the mention of us being Ninja were kept a secret. My grandfather, a ninja, had only one son before Grandmother died however he was born with Aura, very impressive Aura. Typically as was known with Arcs, he grew up to be a famous hunter and had 8 children all of which he was there to witness the birth of.

Grandfather had a way to tell which of us had Chakra and as soon as I was born father told me that he started visiting more often. I always remembered he would be there and I knew I was his favorite for some reason, not that he neglected my sisters of course. He just took a greater care with me. When I was nine years old my father tried to unlock my Aura on the behest of grandpa, nothing happened.

That's when my grandfather explained to me about what it meant. I didn't understand much at the time except that I wasn't going to be a hunter like all the heroes my father once told me about and my sisters who were all in training or graduated and attained their licenses. Instead I, Jaune Arc was destined to become, a ninja, which was the only thing that stuck with me. My father seemed to understand although he wasn't too happy about it but in the end he told me to go with grandfather on his travels.

Later on I would realize that we travelled mostly outside the kingdoms, obviously as Ninja we covet privacy among all things and as such we never became hunters. Instead we serve from the shadows ensuring that peace remains within the four kingdoms although the hunters seem to have it covered for the most part.

This, in my opinion is ironic considering that they are called hunters, yet most prefer to stay in their kingdoms to protect it from the inside. This has left us, the ninjas with the task of doing most of their jobs outside the kingdoms in secret. Not that I'm complaining, I actually prefer the Grimm infested plains of the badlands compared to a cushy room in the kingdoms, it keeps my senses sharp.

I trained my body and learnt the ways of the ninja very well as do most Arcs. Three years after I left home at the age of twelve, I was noted by my grandfather to be a prodigy even by Arc standard. With my idol's praise I became a little conceited, took bigger risks just for the sake of showing off. I overestimated myself one day when I was ambushed by a new species of Grimm I encountered and had my eye slashed out. That was the most damage that mantis Grimm got as my grandfather arrived later and patched me up. He at least didn't scold me, seeing as losing my eye was enough of a lesson learnt.

Having one eye didn't stop me though, in fact it motivated me to becoming even better. I took my training more seriously, listening to every lecture on chakra control and learning more ninjutsu even ones that are not inherent to our clan. I became proficient in the three forms of ninja combat, Genjutsu, Taijutsu and especially Ninjutsu which I take pride in as a 'ninjutsu specialist.'

As for my grandfather he can be a slave driver most times and for a ninja he has a great sense of humor which I picked up. He told me that having good humor can help me cope with the doom and gloom that comes with being a ninja or I would turn 'Emo' from the stress. At fourteen years old I made a name for myself when I participated in the Chunin exams, where Ninjas who had heirs to their clan names would gather.

My grandfather told me that it was just a way for other clans to showoff and I figure he was no exception. During the tests I met some friends and I even learned some of their jutsus and fighting styles. After a mind numbing week I emerged victorious as the last one standing and was rewarded with recognition for my skills by being promoted to Chunin level. Grandfather also gave me a 'gift' for which I am forever grateful for.

After that grandfather elevated the intensity of my training and I was able to go on some solo missions without his supervision. These missions range from Grimm eradication to rescues and even….assassination. Not that I wouldn't do it but only if the person had it coming and it would benefit society. I had learned long ago that although ninjas served to protect the peace, they are not heroes and are the ones who do the things heroes don't.

By the time I was sixteen I was promoted to Jounin, the second youngest in ninja history. For that grandfather gave me a gift, that I will not disclose information on since it is considered a treasure. Life was pretty smooth for the next few months but as they say all good things must come to an end, what I couldn't understand was why, WHY did it have to be _his_.

Ihad known my grandfather to be ill for a while but I thought he would pull through like he always does. To me the man seemed invincible, heck he probably was considering that I've never won against him even in his old age the bastard was faster, stronger and definitely wiser. I looked after him on his death bed, making sure to receive his last wishes before he succumbed to his age. I witnessed the death of another great Shinobi.

As per customary with Shinobi upon their death, I burned his body on a pyre and collected his ashes in an urn that housed many other Arcs before him, pretty sure I'm going to be in there someday as well, hopefully I'll be just as old. For his final wishes, he wanted me to return home, which was understandable since I would need to explain to the family, his death before throwing his ashes across the sea near his birthplace as per tradition. He also gave me two letters, one to give father and the other to be given to 'the headmaster.'

I looked at the instructions then at the urn which held my grandfather's ashes and shook my head, the old coot was odd, sometimes senile and more often than not, borderline insane outside of a serious situation but I still respected him, so I didn't question his decision, much.

It took me a month to arrive in Arc Town, as the name suggest was home to my family, it was founded by my five times great grandfather however it was his (ninja) cousin who scouted the area as suitable for settlement, not that the history books will ever say that. It's actually sad to know that when I help my family and kingdom Iwon't be recognized publicly for it .

Anyway, since I am the returning prodigal Arc who has returned from his journey, I know my appearance will have heads turning a few heads and with my new status as a ninja I am inclined to _not_ draw attention to myself. With that mindset I took to sneaking around back alleys and jumping the rooftops to get to my home.

I stood at the door for about two minutes, taking in everything and subconsciously making possible escape routes before finally knocking on the door. Saying that my family was shocked by my appearance would be an understatement as the moment the doors I was enveloped in a hug. I almost substituted right then and there but calmed down once I realized _who_ was doing the hugging.

My mother was in hysterics when she saw that I lost my eye and before I could get a word in her Aura flared as she went into a tirade about killing grandpa. That was one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life, did I mention my mother was an extremely skilled, extremely powerful huntress. I swear the urn I held subtly shook as she said something about 'castration.'

Luckily I was able to calm her down long enough to explain the real reason why I showed up, I also told her that I couldn't stay long. By this time she and my sisters already know about the _other_ side of the Arc family, I imagine it would be hard to explain. Grandpa made a judgment to not tell his son of it since he wasn't born with any Chakra.

It wasn't long before the rest of my family gathered to see the return of the prodigal son. My sisters were surprisingly broken up about grandfather dying; then again I shouldn't be surprised he spent a good time with them when they were younger. After a small service, we all took turns scattering his ashes across the town sea.

I gave dad grandfather's letter and he read it. That was one down, now he just had to find out who this 'Headmaster' character was and I could do some solo missions. At least that was the plan until father said something that completely caught me off guard. He told me that my grandfather wanted me to attend Beacon academy as a last request.

What can I say? I felt a bunch of emotions well up inside but I managed to quell them and asked the simple question, why? Why would he want me to? Was it a mission of some kind? That seemed the most prudent but dad went on further to state that he wanted me to complete the full four years and get a hunter's license

I-I honestly didn't know what to say, years of tutelage under someone so formal made me _inclined_ to carry out his wishes, add to fact that it was his **final** wish and he had practically forced me to agree with the terms of which I did. My father beamed at me and when he announced it to the rest of my family and needless to say there was cause for celebration.

What did I think? Well at first I was confused but after the initial shock I was angry but did not show it. Don't get me wrong I used to actually _want_ to be a hunter as it was the best chance I would have at being a hero, like all Arcs are. The travels with grandfather and the knowledge I've gained not to mention firsthand experience painted a different picture for me and I've since change my views on the subject though. Yes by all means I still want to be a hero but not _that_ kind of hero, not anymore.

I've learned that there are all kinds of heroes and just because the population at large won't know your name doesn't mean that they won't benefit from your heroic deeds. In the end that's what mattered right? The well being of the people you are sworn to protect? _I_ think so.

I have information on all of the well known and even some obscured combat schools across Remnant. Beacon is hailed as one of, if not _the_ best combat school on Remnant but I knew that whether it was civilian or combat the place was still a _school_. Meaning that they would be focused on learning about trivial things the first two years before actually getting to the point of why they are there in the first place.

Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against hunters and by no means look down on them, after all, there's a reason why people look up to them as keepers of the peace. It's just that, for me, right now, enrolling in a hunter school wouldn't serve any purpose to benefit me. I already know about the Grimm, Dust, relevant history, current news, I try to be well informed, comes with the territory.

Combat isn't a problem, my missions cover human and non-human opponents, I don't have Aura but that didn't stop grandpa from teaching me about it. I was practically raised on most of all the combat schools syllabuses and have been out in the field for almost a decade, so really what's the point? With my line of work I don't usually need allies but just in case I have great social skills so I could use the old 'Arc charm' to make a few if need be.

Thinking about all that my anger rose and somehow mom could see it, I don't know how she did but she knew my grandfather's wish didn't sit well with me. She tried to comfort me, she really did, even some of my oldest sisters tried, telling me that it wouldn't be so bad. They fell on deaf ears though, I didn't accept their help, it was my issue and I needed to solve it myself.

As such I treated my dilemma as a test of some sort, grandfather was wise so there must be some hidden meaning behind his request, right? No not after all that intense training he put me through to be a great shinobi. He wouldn't do all that just to let me do a whole new set of training at Beacon.

And for what, so that I could be a ninja with a hunter's license that I probably don't need or won't use? I pondered this for several days, even when I boarded the Dust plane on my way to..school, man this was depressing. I looked around and saw the students and it was safe to say that most of these people truly don't know what they are going to be in for, if how they act are a hint.

To them this was an exciting day at a new prestigious school, ah these guys wouldn't make it a full week out in the badlands but I guess that's what coming to Beacon is suppose to prepare them for. I watched as the video of Glynda Goodwitch played, welcoming the students to Beacon, her face stern the entire time. I barely listened to it as I took a glance at the rather flashy weapons everyone has, obviously customized with an assortment of colors.

Another thing that's flashy would be some of the student's battle attire, taking a look around I spotted two examples in a girl with long blonde hair having a conversation with a younger black hair girl with red highlights. I get that Aura could protect them but, those outfits don't look _anything_ like combat gear. To each his own I guess or in this case, _her_ own.

For myself, I decided to dress casual, blue jeans and a black hoodie over my chainmail vest (hey, can't be too careful), black finger-less gloves with metal plating over the knuckles, the gloves themselves contain thin razor sharp fiber wires. I was almost tempted to wear a face mask to cover my mouth but my parents convinced me not to. Looking back, a face mask would've just attracted unwanted attention.

I didn't wear my forehead protector since the whole point was to _blend in_ with the crowd. So I wore a medical patch over my left eye, less hassle plus this way people would think I had an accident and my eye was recovering as opposed to wearing an eyepatch where people would stare because I lost an eye at such a young age.

I carried a single brown pouch clipped behind my pants, carrying my summoning scrolls aka my luggage, also weapons etc. I had a smaller pouch strapped to my right thigh, it had a few Kunai in it, not that I'd really need them but if there's anything grandpa has ever thought me is that a ninja must always be prepared.

After listening to the headmistress Glynda Goodwitch's announcement the aircraft landed and then everyone disembarked. I couldn't help but stare at the sheer size of the place, it looks even better up close

"Vale's got nothing on this place" I heard a feminine voice say behind me.

I turned to see the two girls I spotted on the bullhead earlier, now that they're this close I've got to say they aren't bad looking, one could even call them gorgeous maybe for the older one, I would call the younger one cute. I turned and began walking off before they caught me staring. I only made it about ten feet before the blonde ran past me with some random people.

I blinked and turned around to find the girl in red looking dizzy and stumbling back right into a luggage cart. Before I could say watch out, she fell back throwing the white luggage off while doing so. No sooner did a girl who in my opinion must have been sent from the heavens because of her snow white hair, angelic face and pale blue eyes started yelling at her.

"Ah she'll be fine" I mumbled to myself before continuing on my way.

Another ten feet later and an explosion made me snap my head back towards them.

After the red cloud that showed lightning and ice parted, there stood little red and the snow angel, except she was covered in soot. After a moment the snow angel began yelling at little red who was bringing her two index finger together in embarrassment. They were approached by yet _another_ beautiful girl with a black bow on top of her head, her expression was a definite neutral.

"Is every girl in this school beautiful and/or cute?" I asked myself but shrugged the question off.

Instead I walked to survey the land for a nice quiet spot to read a book but not just any book it is my personal book I recently picked up. Just because I'm literally out of the woods doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading literature, something I picked up in the absence of technology. Half the excitement I got from my travels is watching grandpa do an awesome cool new technique and now I have free reign to learn.

Then it just occurred to me, since I'm trying to remain incognito I won't be able to use any as long as I'm here which means I'M STUCK HERE FOR FOUR YEARS AND I CAN'T USE ANY NINJUSTSU. No, that's not fair, I worked hard to learn those things, I mean yeah I'm really good in Taijutsu and since my left eye I've only gotten better in Genjutsu but still. No maybe I can still use them but explain that it's a part of my semblance

"Get it together Jaune" I mumbled to myself "you're over thinking things, at least wait until you actually get accepted before you dwell on it." I noticed someone behind me not moving.

"Can I help you?" I said before turning around and was greeted by a familiar sight.

It was little red and she kept staring at me not saying or doing anything, I guess my appearance would do that but that doesn't mean it is any less annoying.

"Helloooo" I said waving in front of her face. She snapped out of it "didn't your parents teach you it's impolite to stare?"

"I-I'm so sorry it's just that-"

I held my hand up "its fine, happens a lot more than you think." I assured her "hey aren't you the girl who exploded?" I questioned teasingly, the ol' Arc Charm at its finest.

"That was an accident! That was an accident! She kept yelling at me and shaking that vile of Dust in my face and I sneezed and it exploded and she kept yelling even more and the-"

She was cut off when I laughed out loud holding my sides "that's what happened?" I wiped away a tear "you have wicked allergies crater face." I joked

"Hey~" she complained "that not very nice, uh um" she fumbled her words

"It's Jaune, Jaune Arc" I stretched my arm out with a friendly smile

She looked at it warily before shaking it "Ruby Rose."

Ruby Rose huh, I guess that explains all the red.

"So what did you want to ask me?"

"Oh uh do you know where the Auditorium is, I am completely lost."

"Sure but we still have some time before we're suppose to show up. By the way weren't you with a blonde girl earlier?"

"That's Yang" she chirped but then her expression became upset "she ditched me to hang out with her friends" her expression became sad.

"Then why don't you just hang out with some of your friends then?"

She shook her head sheepishly while bridging her index fingers "I don't have any" her voice was quiet.

"Well since you don't have any, want to be friends then?" After that question I swore I saw twinkles in her silver eyes.

"Really!" she squealed but then composed herself "wh-I-I mean if you don't mind I mean I am just a stranger"

I waved her off "Ah don't worry, my mom always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet" I grinned and she returned the gesture. "So shall we?" I gestured towards the Auditorium.

We walked in complete awkward silence at least that must be what Ruby was thinking since she kept swaying in h steps as if she's trying to start a conversation. I myself don't really mind the silence but seeing her like that was kind of painful to watch.

"Sooo" she slowed down behind me

' _Looks like she finally found something to talk about'_ I thought.

"I've got this" she took the red box behind her back and it unfolded into a giant scythe with what looks like a magazine sticking out of it. It was really bad ass.

"Wow, is that a scythe?" I mentally slapped myself, of course it's a scythe, idiot.

"Yep and it also functions as a high powered sniper rifle"

And it transformed into a sniper, I could've commented on how contradictory it was to fuse a long range weapon with a short range weapon but I guess when you think about it, she has more options.

"That's cool"

"So what'd you got?" she asked inching closer with excitement

"Well I don't have anything like you have actually" I said before reaching for my leg pouch "plus I don't really have a main weapon like everyone else but I mostly use these." I pulled out a Kunai and a shuriken.

"Ooooh, what do they do?" she asked expectantly while examining the shuriken

I sweat dropped; she looked at it as if it was supposed to mechashift into something.

"Ruby" I interrupted

"Yes?"

"They don't _do_ anything, I can either throw them or" I grasp the Kunai "or in the Kunai's case, use it to stab or cut things." I finished.

She seemed kind of disappointed, no not disappointed, more like worried "that's it?" She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes.

I almost immediately melted under her gaze and became bashful "Na" I waved her off "I actually got a whole bunch I keep on me, like my grandpa always said 'a ninja must always be prepared'." My eyes widened in realization.

' _I just outed myself'_ I found myself on all fours begging my ancestors before me for forgiveness. I just outed myself after a girl gave me the puppy dog eyes.

"You're a ninja?" I heard her ask calmly.

I looked up to see her staring at me, somehow her eyes were darkened even though her bangs aren't that long. Weird

"Um, yes?" I answered more out of curiosity than genuinely.

She started trembling "that, that" I got off my knees and stood up.

"That, is, SO COOL!" she raised her head and to my surprise was beaming at me with a wide smile and stars in her eyes. It was honestly confusing yet adorable at the same time.

She started going on a mad rant about how cool ninjas are while zipping around the place doing incoherent kungfu noises and poses she probably saw from movies.

"I can't wait to tell Yang that I'm friends with an actual ninja!"

Okay that I heard "uh Ruby"

"Yes"

"Please don't tell anyone"

She deflated "why not?"

"Because I don't need the attention" my reply came out more blunt than I thought it would.

She was startled by my bluntness but nodded all the same "okay I won't tell anyone Jaune." Great now I feel bad.

I sighed while scratching my head "look I'm sorry Ruby" she looked at me confusedly "I'm sorry for being harsh but **you** weren't even supposed to find that out, it slipped my tongue. I don't need anyone prying me for answers or anything."

She brightened at this "you don't have to worry Jaune your secret is safe with me."

I smiled and ruffled her hair "hey quit it" she demanded.

We arrived inside the building and the blonde girl who I learned was Ruby's actual sister called her over. "Hey Ruby over here, I saved you a spot!"

"Oh yeah, I gotta go" she began walking off but not before adding "I'll see you after the ceremony."

I did a weak wave "aw great, now where am I supposed to find a nice quirky girl to talk to" as I finished that sentence I felt eyes on me.

I turned around and my blue eye met her emerald ones. I took in her complete appearance, she wore her red hair in a high ponytail, her attire consisted of bronze armor with a red scarf tied to her waist and a headdress with an emerald jewel at the center.

I blinked

She blinked, before quickly turning away

I turned away as well

"It is official, only beautiful girls are allowed in this school" I said to myself.

Or maybe it's just my luck because I swear it's like déjà vu

"YOU!" I heard a feminine voice yell

I turned towards the ruckus "speaking of déjà vu" I mumbled.

It seems like snow angel was yelling at Ruby _again_ and _again_ I will not touch that conversation. I firmly believe that when a group of girls are arguing with each other the men should not intervene

"Yeah and we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about tall, blonde and one eyed over there." I heard her say while pointing at me.

My brows furrowed, that was uncalled for and it just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover looks like mistook a 'snow angel' for the 'ice queen' and mark my words I will get her back for that one eyed comment. I'm serious; I don't take kindly to people insulting my eye, especially what I had went through to receive it.

Soon the entire room was quiet as the headmaster Ozpin walked on stage, professor Goodwitch followed close behind. Once all the murmurs stopped and everyone was quiet, I took the chance given to take out my little journal, the one that I had planned to read earlier before I met Ruby.

Even though I was reading, it didn't stop me from listening to the headmaster's little speech which I scoffed at. It was so obvious to me what he was trying to do, he deliberately sounded morbid and dismissive of their skills in order for them to get rid of all doubt in their minds and weed out anyone weak willed or arrogant ones. It's a good tactic, when dealing with the Grimm or anything really, you don't need anyone that could jeopardize the goal.

We were all later given scroll devices and were told of the locker delivery system. That would actually be kind of inconvenient for me. The summoning scrolls wrapped around my forearms have a higher security since I'm the only one who can use them and is more convenient. Hmm, I guess I could put some of my other scrolls in it, that's a thought for another time. I found a nice, dark, quiet corner away from people and began tinkering with my scroll.

Night soon descended on Beacon but I was still familiarizing myself with the scroll, for such a small device it has a lot of features, I didn't even noticed it was night time yet. By the time I was satisfied, I was the only one in the room _not_ in his pajamas, I looked around for any cameras or straying eyes before flickering towards the nearest bathroom.

I took off my shirt and chain mail but stopped to look over the numerous scars I acquired during my time with grandpa and became saddened as his dying smile ran through my mind. The moment passed and I changed into a navy blue pajama bottom and matching T- shirt.

Next I went for my locker, the locker room was empty good thing too, I don't need anyone seeing what I was about to do. After a silent sweep for cameras I took one of my scrolls, opened it, bit my thumb and after a few hand seals

"Summoning" I said quietly and a puff of smoke later some of my weapons appeared on the scroll sheet, that includes, explosive tags, a few kunai, shuriken, makibishi spikes, a few roles of fiber wires and a Wakizashi. I decided to pre-pack for the initiation tomorrow, I packed the pouches neatly and my weapon scrolls along with them.

I went inside the building and was hit with the site of Ruby's sister leering at a bunch of shirtless guys flexing and play fighting. I shook my head and decided it would be better if I _wasn't_ seen by her or Ruby for that matter and as such I took the scenic route so as to not get caught. Sure it took longer but I'm glad I never took the chance because ice queen is, for the third time today, arguing with Ruby and her sister in front of the cool beauty with the bow from this morning.

I found a nice comfy spot and sighed ready to close my eye and as if on cue, cool beauty blew out the candles.

Thank You.

 _To Be Continued_

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 **Author's Notes: Had this little story on the back burner for a while, just something I wanted to try, my very first Jaune-centric story. Got this after reading 'Hunter of The Copy Wheel Eye' by 'Rage Addiction,' like the story, although Jaune's change in personality was really** _ **weird**_ **for my taste.**

 **Anyway, just thought, instead of Saskue or Itachi, I'd make Jaune like Kakashi because let's be honest there is just not enough fics with everyone's favorite Jounin. I've written a few chapters but got stuck on where to continue, of course I won't follow cannon. In fact I'll probably do something that would blow the cannon story away.**

 **But Like I mentioned, this depends on YOU, so what's the verdict? Should I or Shouldn't I Continue**


	2. Old Friends and Potential New Allies

**Author's Notes: HOLY SH*T I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING! Er, pardon my language but I've got to say this is by far the most response I've ever gotten for a fic in my short time as a writer and for just** _ **one**_ **chapter since everyone of you liked it so much I will give you your next chapter.**

 **Chapter 2: Old Friends and Potential New Allies**

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Jaune opened his one eye to look up at the ceiling; he stayed like this for a few minutes taking in his surroundings. Then it came to him, he was at Beacon academy, what time was it anyway? He glanced at his watch, to see that it was 4:30,

He groaned "stupid internal alarm clock" he mumbled to himself.

One of the fruits or in this case curse of his training with Jonas Arc, he'd wake up early in the morning to do some exercises. He honestly didn't want to wake up this early; it would be weird if someone caught a student waking up at 4 in the morning for some exercises.

"Screw it" he mumbled.

Jaune got up and made his way to his locker, as expected no one else is awake and why would they? Initiation starts at 8:00 sharp. He's guessing that if there are any early risers it would be another hour before _they_ wake up. He entered the combination for his locker, making sure everything is in its right place because Jaune is just paranoid like that.

"Note to self use sealing Jutsu on locker" he whispered to himself as he took out the scroll he so affectionately named 'weights'.

"Hello old friend" he did a hand seal placed his palm onto the open scroll. A puff of smoke later revealed the contents hidden in the scroll.

There were five pieces; they looked like oversized leg and arm warmers with the last piece looking like a vest. They all had long rectangular compartments going around in a circle. Next to the items were beige colored rectangular weights, they were small but they all had the words 10Kg written in Kanji stamped at the front.

Ah yes these were the type of weights used by the only clan known for their mastery of Taijutsu, the Valkyrie clan. The clan on a whole had incredible physical prowess and superior stamina compared to most hunters and shinobi alike. As such, they favor Taijutsu and are especially famous for utilizing The Eight Gates technique.

A technique that, in Jaune's opinion is nigh unattainable for anyone except a Valkyrie and that fact is true as most could only open the second gate at best. The pure physical strength needed to beyond is just too insane.

Right now Jaune had about 175Kg of weights on him and they were still heavy as hell, he decided to do a complete jog around the school for the next hour followed by some meditation to mend his tired muscles.

"No pain, no gain" he grunted walking outside.

' _Look at it this way Jaune'_ he thought to himself _'on one hand you'll be in excruciating pain by the end of this but on the other hand you'll be able to do a little recon in peace.'_

As he began his jog making sure to do so on solid ground because his body was really heavy right now and he didn't need to leave foot prints in the grass. He reached about a full circle when he came upon a very peculiar site

"What the.." he voiced before his eyes widened and he slowed down.

A distance away from him stood another student, he had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, he wore a green T shirt with a grey sweat pants and Jaune could see that he was bare footed. Jaune observed the enigma while slowly approaching, even with the immense weight on his body his steps made no sound.

Even so the boy seemed to notice the new presence and turned around to gaze at the newcomer. Now having a good look, Jaune noticed a lock of his hair was dyed pink the same color as his eyes. Upon glancing at Jaune the youth's eyes widened slightly in shock.

Jaune grinned "Lie, Ren" he said slowly whilst still approaching

The boy now identified as Ren gave a small smile "Jaune Arc, it is good to see yo-"

The boy in green was cut off as Jaune embraced him in a brotherly hug "you bastard" he said playfully, unknowing to him that the boy in question was currently straining under his added weight.

"J-Jaune" he gasped "your weights, heavy"

The one eyed blonde realized and backed away "oh I'm sorry" but then he smiled "wh-what're _you_ doing here?"

Rubbing his arm Ren winced "I should be asking you the same question" his expression became stoic "from what I've heard your grandfather would never allow you to attend a school for future huntsmen and huntresses."

Jaune became saddened and he lowered his head "I guess you haven't heard then?" Jaune said in almost a whisper.

Ren rose an eyebrow "heard what?"

Jaune looked at his old friend "grandfather died two months ago."

Ren's eyes widened in genuine shock, "h-how?" was the only word to come out of his mouth.

"Don't worry, his death was natural" Jaune reassured.

Ren seemed to calm down, truth be told no matter how old Jonas Arc was, Ren couldn't imagine anything short of an army of Grimm ambushing him to finish that man off and they would all have to be S-Class.

"I'm sorry for your loss" Ren patted his shoulder.

Jaune waved off the gesture "it's alright, it was just his time and he died with a smile on his face and no regret." He brightened a bit

"Wait you were actually there when he died?" Ren asked curiously to which the blonde nodded slowly, his expression became serious as he knew what his friend was getting at. "Does that mean your eye.."

"Yes"

"I see" Ren looked to be contemplating something.

Jaune decided to brighten the conversation "hey you still haven't answered my question Ren" this got the boy's attention "what, are, you, doing here?"

Ren sighed "my mother decided to send me to a hunter school"

"Oh, is it because you have Aura?" Jaune asked and Ren nodded.

Out of all the Chakra users, Lie Ren is the only one who was born with Aura, which created some controversy among the Aura-less since they've never had a case like this. It helped however that he was also born with his family's Kekkei Genkai. With the ability to mold Chakra and utilize Aura Ren may be considered one of the luckiest men on Remnant but he doesn't brag about it.

"And you" he asked.

"My grandpa's last wish in his will, couldn't refuse," _'Damn his traditionalist teachings!'_ "I still don't see why he wanted me to come here though."

Ren was silent for awhile until he replied "I think I may have a reason as to why he wanted you to enroll."

Jaune perked up "Really, what?"

"Maybe he believes you will be able to help your team with your skills."

Jaune's never really thought about it like that before, 'help them, help others.'

"But they're just a small group."

"Think of it like this, the more you help them to become competent huntsmen or huntresses, the more they will be able to help people without getting killed or failing." Ren answered.

After thinking it over it made sense "huh, guess you're right" he smiled "thanks Ren, sorry I interrupted your Kata."

Ren waved it off without a word and Jaune gave one last "see you around" before continuing his morning jog, leaving Ren to continue his Kata.

Jaune ran thinking _'helping them, help others huh? I guess I can work with that.'_

An hour and a half later Jaune finished his morning workout and headed for the lockers, he almost forgot the time and by the time he scrambled to get to the showers it was packed. Luckily he managed to sneak in a spot quickly before anyone noticed and took a nice 5 minute shower. He casted a Genjutsu on himself so no one would notice his scars,

' _I do not need any rumors floating around'_ He thought to himself.

Jaune wore a dark blue shirt over a chain mail vest and a green flack jacket with an assortment of front compartments over that. He wore dark blue pants that have been tied down with bandages on his upper right thigh and at his ankles and finally he wore blue Shinobi sandals. Lastly he wore his forehead protector with the Arc symbol engraved on it, tilting it so it covers his left eye.

On his way to the lockers he saw Ruby having an argument with her sister and he mentally decreed like the night before that he shall not 'touch that.' So instead of walking between them, he walked around them, breathing a sigh of relief as both sisters didn't seem to notice him. Jaune gave thanks only to curse mentally when he almost came face to face with the 'ice queen' having a conversation with the red headed girl he caught staring at him yesterday.

' _Seriously!?'_ he _mentally shouted 'ah whatever'_

Just like with the red, black and gold siblings Jaune slipped past the both of them unnoticed but didn't count his chickens yet since they were about twenty feet away. He noticed from his vision's peripheral that the red headed girl had noticed him. He observed that she seemed to be straining to keep up that smile she had while talking to the 'ice queen' for some reason.

Jaune shrugged "not my problem."

Now to get down to business, he strapped the black rectangular pouch onto his bandaged right thigh and clipped the round brown pouch behind his back. Next he took out something of his own design, blue fingerless gloves with metal plating across the knuckles. As Jaune put them on, he made sure to tighten them, once on he brought his hands together intertwining his fingers. He parted them to reveal thin yet strong razor sharp fiber wires. Jaune smiled at this before enclosing his hands and parting them again revealing the fiber wire to be gone.

Last but not least Jaune took out his Wakizashi, to some it may seem small compared to other blades but to Jaune bigger isn't always better. He strapped it directly around his waist so the blade itself was horizontal behind his back with the hilt to his right side.

' _Hmm, wonder if I should bring the windmill shuriken'_ he mused _'on second thought nah, probably won't even need it.'_ He spied a stack of explosive tags "hmm" he hummed, would he need them? He then shrugged, it wouldn't hurt to have a few, you never know when you might want to blow something up.

Jaune closed his locker just in time to see the 'ice queen' walking towards him with a smile on her face. But upon meeting his gaze her smile dropped and she huffed before turning her nose up at him with her eyes closed as she pass him by. Jaune deadpanned while still following her path.

' _Seriously, what is her problem!? I haven't even said_ _ **one**_ _word to her and she's acting like I tried to flirt with her or something'_ he thought in frustration but then his expression became pensive _'Wait a minute, something's not right.'_

"Hello there" a cheery voice greeted him from behind

Jaune turned around to see the red haired girl Ice Queen was talking to.

' _Somehow I completely forgot her.'_ He thought.

"Uh hi" he greeted back awkwardly with a sheepish smile.

There was an awkward silence and to Jaune the girl looked like she was expecting something so he broke the silence

"Well, this is awkward" he scratched the back of head while laughing awkwardly.

"Oh no, sorry, it's just that…ahem" she coughed in her fist and sighed before extending her other arm "my name is Pyrrha Nikos."

He shook her hand and smiled "Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. My dad told me to tell any girl I meet that _ladies love it_." He said sarcastically.

To his surprise she giggled at this _'huh didn't think it would actually work.'_

"So" he began "what were you and the 'Ice Queen' talking about?"

"I'm sorry who?" she asked confused.

' _Oh right I'm the only one who knows her new nickname.'_

"The girl from earlier"

"Oh" she realized "she approached me to propose we become part of the same team" her smile faltered somewhat.

"Something tells me that you're not as happy about that idea as she was." He commented.

"W-well I"

"Hey" he held his hands up to his chest in surrender "you don't owe _me_ an explanation and besides, I doubt _we're_ the ones who are supposed to choose our partners anyway."

She seemed to contemplate this with a hum "I guess you may be right. They didn't allow us to choose our partners in Sanctum either."

"Yeah, but hey," he smiled "maybe we can be partners" his smile faltered "I-I mean if you want."

Pyrrha beamed at him "I'd love to" she replied and they both smiled at each other.

"Hey Jaune!" A familiar voice shouted.

Pyrrha turned her head and Jaune glanced to see Ruby and Yang approaching them.

Jaune didn't lose his smile and waved "hey Ruby."

"This is the guy I was talking about Yang" Ruby gestured to Jaune.

Jaune took this opportunity to get a closer view at Yang up close and what a view it was. Jaune also took this opportunity to get a closer inspection of this situation and come to terms with the fact that he was in the presence of three cute girls. If only his grandpa could see him now.

"So you're the guy my lil' sis wouldn't stop talking about" she said with her arms crossed while looking him up and down.

Jaune shot Ruby a glance _'Ruby you didn't'_ the girl in question was bridging her index fingers together while constantly averting her gaze _'Kawaii'_ whoa where did that come from?

Yang smiled "you're the first friend she made"

' _Oh thank Monty'_ he mentally calmed down.

Yang approached closer with a predatory smirk "I approve" she practically purred.

Jaune has been thought how to handle many things during his travels and this particular situation was **not** one of them but he was prepared. Whenever an enemy has you in a tight spot there is only _one thing_ a ninja can do, **substitution!**

He noticed Pyrrha from his peripherals, she had a frown and her eyes were narrowed slightly at Yang, Jaune had no idea why, but she will make a good substitution. In the blink of the eye Jaune switch his and Pyrrha's places so now Yang was facing Pyrrha and vice versa while Jaune was between them on the sidelines next to Ruby.

All three girls blinked and a collective _'huh?'_ went through their minds.

Completely ignoring their shocked expression "Ruby, Yang I'd like to introduce you to Pyrrha Nikos."

Both girls glanced at Jaune now confused, Jaune gave Pyrrha a pleading look and she understood and gave him a slight nod

Yang pointed confusedly between where Jaune was and his current position "how did yo-"

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss?" Pyrrha interrupted smiling brightly.

Yang gave her the attention "oh, uh, Yang Xiao long" she shook her hand.

Jaune sighed in relief but turned to Ruby and sweat dropped. Ruby held both her hands together under her chin while beaming at him with twinkles in her eyes, she mouthed 'that was so cool.' Jaune saw that Yang was gearing up for an interrogation so he took the initiative

"Hey Ruby, if you two are sisters then how come you have different last names?" The questioned seemed to snap her out of, whatever she was doing.

"Come to think of it, you two look nothing alike" Pyrrha added.

"We have different mothers" Ruby answered.

"Oh" Jaune said "well it was nice meeting you Yang but oh would you look at the time" he glanced at his watch "if we stay any longer we'll be late for the initiation, okay so bye" he said quickly before bolting out the room leaving all three girls alone with each other.

Pyrrha coughed and turned to the siblings "well it was nice meeting you Yang, Ruby" the Spartan said before following Jaune's lead albeit walking instead of making a getaway.

* * *

Meanwhile Jaune was making his way to the cliffs _'what is it with me and women today'_ he thought frustrated and confused.

Upon approaching the cliff he saw professors Ozpin and Goodwitch along with some students, he locked gazes with Ren and they both sent nods of acknowledgement to each other only Jaune smiled. Next to him was an orange haired girl with a grenade launcher on her back, he also locked gazes with the cool beauty and he could have sworn that her eyes widened slightly when she saw him.

Shrugging it off he went to the very last platform and upon setting foot on it he already knew what they were in for.

' _These people are_ _ **insane**_ _'_ he thought _'they're going to_ _ **launch**_ _them in the forest? Wait so what happens if some of these guys aren't skilled enough to land safely, then what? I'll tell you what happens, SP-LAT!'_

Jaune was a little flabbergasted by how reckless they are with their lives but then again this is a top hunter academy. It would be laughable how a famous academy didn't check the students' skill level before and even _after_ acceptance.

With a shrug Jaune reached into one of his jacket's pocket and pulled out his small green covered notebook, this one is marked 'Shinobi Art of War' in Kanji. With one hand in his pocket and putting most of his weight on his right leg he became immersed in literature. Although 'immersed' would be a strong word since he kept his guard up and paid close attention to any sudden movement from his vision's peripherals.

Soon enough Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby arrived, the Ice Queen didn't give Pyrrha much of a choice on which platform to go on since it looked like she saved the spot just for her effectively filling out every platform. Ruby got on the platform next to Jaune and Yang was on the one next to her. Ruby looked as if she wanted to ask him something but professor Ozpin spoke up.

"For years you have all trained to becoming warriors and today you will be evaluated in the Emerald forest."

"Now I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors of the assignment of teams" professor Goodwitch began "well allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today." She finished

Still eyeing his book Jaune could hear Ruby whine beside him, just then Professor Ozpin spoke.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with."

Jaune heard Ruby whine _even more_.

"With that being said the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Right then Jaune could have sworn he heard a glass shattering sound effect right before Ruby outright shouted "What!"

"See I told you" the orange haired girl beside Ren said.

Giving said girl a silencing glare Ozpin continued "after you've partnered up make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die."

That was enough for Jaune to shift his eye to look at the headmaster for a moment before refocusing on the book.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation" he glanced at Goodwitch "but our instructors will not intervene."

Jaune let out a silent scoff _'liar, there's no way this school would still be running if anyone died in that forest over the years, which means there are probably instructors secretly stationed in the forest.'_ He thoughtfully deduced.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and run to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item as well as your standing and will be graded appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune abruptly shut the book during the silence after Ozpin's questions.

"Good, now take your positions."

At that everyone took some form of combat stance including Ruby who had her hand on her weapon. Jaune on the other hand calmly placed the book in his vest pocket and maintained his relaxed position. He turned just in time to see Yang give Ruby a wink and pulled out aviator shades from out of nowhere then got launched.

Ruby turned to him and smirked, Jaune returned the gesture with both hands in his pockets. After Ruby was launched Jaune turned his attention to the two professors who looked at him with intrigue, he gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head before *SPRUNG* he was launched with the rest of them.

Ozpin watched the airborne students and took a sip from his coffee.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Well there you have it I know cliff hangers suck and this chapter is a little bit on the short side (to me since I consider my word count for a single chapter to be 3,000 words) but it felt right to end it here, makes people want more.**

 **So expect things to be like this, I also won't give you a set date for when I release another chapter, made that mistake with three other fics and now most of the readers think I'm KIA. Anyway leave a review if you liked it and try to guess who I'm basing Ren off of in Naruto.**


	3. The Beacon Initiation Part 1

**Author's Notes: Alright I've received some reviews that upset me a little, so I will be dispelling them now. For the first and last time Jaune is** _ **not**_ **Kakashi alright. First of all Kakashi and Jaune grew up in similar yet completely different circumstances. While Kakashi grew up in a village, Jaune travelled with his grandfather for most of his life. They were both thought their skills under different circumstances and yes I do put that into account with Jaune.**

 **There is a reason he acts like he does and unfortunately I can't reveal it or I'll spoil the plot. I will say this, instead of thinking Jaune as a blonde Kakashi, think of it as Jaune being put in a position to be Kakashi, meaning that while he has some of the Shinobi skills and mentality, at the core he is still Jaune Arc.I'm sorry but that's the truth of this character, now enough of my ramblings, enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Beacon Initiation Part 1**

Soaring through the air Jaune felt free, but his common sense didn't allow him to enjoy that freedom for very long as he was still flying across a Grimm infested forest with nothing but his skills to make a safe landing. He looked around at his fellow students, the Ice Queen was using glyphs to maneuver herself in the air, he saw Ruby use the recoil of her sniper to slow her fall, and then swing her scythe on a tree branch. The fact that it didn't cut the branch off means that Ruby is very skilled with it, he gave her nod of approval.

He saw Ren use his two weapons to hook and spin down a thick barked tree which was awesome, an explosion made him revert his attention to Yang who was blasting fire out her feet to propel herself even more all the while cheering.

Jaune sweat dropped, well she's having fun but enough about them, he realized he was now descending fast so the question is, how will he land?

"I got it" he snapped his fingers _'I'll just use the fiber wires in my gloves to snag myself on a branch and swing to the ground from there.'_ He nodded to his plan with a smug grin and pulled the fiber wires from his gloves in a tight pull between his fingers.

Now all he had to do was find a branch thick enough to hold his weight. His keen senses scoping out the forestry, his mind was calm even though it looked like he was plummeting to certain death.

"Aha" he grinned "come to papa" he pulled more fiber wires intending to catch the branch when a gunshot was heard.

He glanced from the corner of his eye curiously to see a javelin, HEADING STRAIGHT FOR HIM!

His eye widened at the sudden threat "whoa!" but he still managed to twist himself in the air and dodge with a hairs breath.

As he righted himself to his previous position he thought out its trajectory and glanced where its point of origin should be. His expression became one of shock as he spied a familiar redhead wearing bronze armor.

' _Pyrrha!?'_ he mentally yelled.

Jaune quickly and haphazardly followed through with his original landing strategy, because of Pyrrha's… interruption; he missed the preferred branch and had to settle for a poor substitute. With that said the fiber wires cut through the branch once his weight was on it, but luckily with his agility he managed to hop from tree to tree until he saw Pyrrha's weapon, a javelin.

He climbed to the top of the tree and scoped out the red headed champion, he stretched his arms out with a 'what the hell was that?' expression.

Her response was "I'm sorry." She then jumped off her branch and disappeared from view.

Jaune deadpanned at that and face palmed with a groan "Judging from her distance it'll probably take her a few minutes to get here" he jumped from the top and landed on a branch just above where her javelin stuck.

Looking at the javelin Jaune could only sigh, exactly what was she trying to accomplish by launching her javelin at him like that? He began replaying the whole ordeal in his head and after a while came up blank.

"Women will forever be a mystery to me" he groaned but shrugged "oh well, at least she wasn't trying to kill me. I think. I hope."

The young ninja was thrown from his thoughts when he spotted a familiar white hair _'hello~'_ he mused before pulling the javelin from the tree.

* * *

A few feet away Weiss was busy searching _'alright, all I have to do is search for Pyrrha and then we can go to the temple collect the relics and..'_ The young heiress was halted from her thoughts when someone skidded to a stop before her.

Light blue eyes met silver eyes as Weiss and Ruby wordlessly stared at each other. They both blinked. While Ruby's eyes slightly widened and a small smile formed, Weiss' eyes narrowed and her frown deepened. And just as they met Weiss turned on her heel and left Ruby

"Wait, where're you going?" she pleaded then kicked a pebble "we're supposed to be teammates" She finished dejectedly.

As Weiss walked through the bushes she heard a voice "that wasn't a nice thing to do" she looked around her trying to find the source, she turned around slowly until she came upon a boy.

"Ah!" she jumped. He literally came out of nowhere.

Jaune himself had his eye inside the book he was reading before; he had the javelin in his left hand hanging on his shoulder. He made sure at her bewildered expression and said one thing

"Ice Queen" he acknowledged.

Weiss seemed to get over her initial shock from this and narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. She looked him over but that javelin over his shoulder caught her attention, it seems familiar to her. Weiss' eyes widened in realization, that was the weapon Pyrrha showed her earlier, Milo.

"You" she pointed an accusing finger at him

"Jaune Arc" he corrected

"That, wait what?"

"My name is Jaune Arc not 'you' Ice Queen." He said not taking his eye off his book. Was it a rude thing to do? Yes, but so far she hasn't given him any reason to like her as a friend.

She scowled at him "Ice Queen?" she said incredulously

"Well I used to call you 'snow angel' but after you called me 'tall, blonde and one eyed' I decided that 'ice queen' fitted you better." He finished eye still on his book.

Weiss gritted her teeth "how dare you, do you have any idea who I am?"

Jaune looked at her with a raised eyebrow "umm, ice queen?" he answered.

"No you dolt" she stomped her foot "I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." She answered with her fingers gracing her chest and her head held high with dignity.

Jaune blinked at her display "ooohh sorry" she smiled smugly at this "but you're still not getting rid of that nickname. Ice Queen." He finished with a smirk.

Weiss' mouth dropped in shock for a second before she started fuming at which Jaune's smirk turned into a broad smile. Seeing this Weiss composed herself and pointed at the javelin, he followed her finger path to gaze at it.

"What are youdoing with Pyrrha's weapon?"

"Funny story about that-"

"Weiss" they both glanced back to see Ruby walking through the bushes. After passing through a thick shrub she stumbled a bit before her gaze met Weiss' then "Jaune!" she beamed.

"Yo" he gave a two finger salute complete with a smile "hey Ruby."

"You two know each other" Weiss stated "why am I not surprised?" she crossed her arms at seeing Ruby and turned to Jaune.

"Now tell me why you are in possession of Pyrrha's weapon"

"Well she-"

"Jaune" he was again interrupted by the sound of another voice.

They all turned to see the one in question making her way through some trees.

"Speak of the devil" Jaune mumbled to himself "hey Pyrrha"

"Hello Jaune, Ruby, Weiss" she nodded to each of them.

"Hey Pyrrha" Ruby greeted the Spartan who took her weapon from Jaune.

Weiss was at a loss for words and could only say "you two know each other?"

"We're friends as of this morning" Jaune answered with a smile which turned into a frown as he glanced at the now sheepish Spartan "although after she almost impaled me with her javelin I'm not so sure."

A wide eyed Ruby and Weiss glanced at Pyrrha who looked embarrassed.

"I-it wasn't like that" she defended "I saw you falling into the forest and you didn't look like you were doing anything so" she lowered her head "I tried to use Milo to pin you to a tree."

Jaune blinked "oh, I guess that makes sense" he scratched the back of head while averting his gaze, a little embarrassed that he just accused her of trying to kill him.

"I'm sorry" she apologized

He waved it off "ah, it's alright. Partner" he finished with a smile.

Pyrrha's head shot up to look at Jaune's smile and she couldn't help but smile as well "partner." She acknowledged.

Two simultaneous frustrated "what" came from Ruby and Weiss.

Weiss, because her plan for her and Pyrrha to be Beacon's unstoppable and popular duo. And Ruby since she was hoping to be partners with Jaune, she ran it through her head that while Yang was her first choice she would constantly embarrass her while Jaune was nice, funny and was a **ninja**. She made sure to emphasize that fact.

"Awww, I wanted to partner up with Jaune" Ruby whined.

"Sorry Ruby and technically you did meet Ice Queen before me anyway." She pouted at him and he laughed while tussling her hair.

"Ack quit it" she complained smacking his hand away.

"We should head to the temple since we all have partners now" Pyrrha commented.

"A-agreed" Weiss said a little reluctantly while looking at Ruby who had a sheepish smile.

They all began to walk Pyrrha and Weiss led the walk while Jaune stayed back with Ruby.

"So you and Ice Queen are partners huh?"

"Yeah" she replied a little sadly.

"My condolences" he replied to which she smiled and playfully pushed him.

Ruby's gaze fell upon the weapon sheathed behind his waist

"Heey, I thought you didn't have a main weapon" she said accusingly

"I don't" he agreed

"Then what's that?" she pointed to his blade.

"Oh that's just a Wakizashi"

"Wacky what?" she asked confusedly.

' _Oh right I forgot.'_ He mused. "It's just my short sword and I wouldn't call it my 'main' weapon since I've got a whole bunch of 'em."

"Hmm" she seems to ponder this "so how many weapons _do_ you have?" she wondered aloud.

"Well if we're talking about Shuriken and Kunai then I literally have dozens of them. I was trained to use many weapons so I don't have a preferred one."

"Wow"

"So how's a girl like you get a scythe like that" he pointed to the folded weapon behind her back.

She immediately took the scythe and started cradling it "I made Crescent Rose myself. My uncle thought me how to use it."

"Your uncle wouldn't happen to be Qrow would he?" he asked

"Yep, dusty old Qrow, you know him?"

Know him, he's one of the few huntsman who know about the existence of ninjas. He's one of the greatest hunters in all of Remnant and a pretty cool guy. Jaune had the pleasure of working with him on some missions.

Jaune shrugged "I've heard about him" he sounded unenthusiastic. Just then something alerted him "hey everyone stop" he called out.

The three girls stopped to glance at Jaune who had a serious expression, he kept darting his eye around the surrounding bushes.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha questioned worriedly

"We've got company" he answered darkly.

Suddenly there was movement in the bushes near Weiss, the huntress-in-training drew her rapier and went into a stance aiming her blade at the bush where a low growling could be heard, Jaune observed that a Dust filled mechanism in the weapon shifted. Pyrrha and Ruby had their weapons ready Jaune reached for his leg pouch.

Suddenly a Beowolf lunged at Weiss but the heiress was prepared and spun to evade the charge simultaneously slashing across its chest, the dust released from the blow ignited and the Beowolf was thrown to the side while on fire.

This sparked a full on ambush as a pack of Beowolves came out and started circling, Jaune counted 12 when a larger one appeared, this one had more spikes coming out of it

' _The Alpha huh? We can take him.'_ He thought confidently.

"Alright ladies, here's the plan" he said seriously. All three of them glanced at him and he grinned "destroy at your own leisure" he finished.

Pyrrha smiled and nodded "understood"

Ruby simply grinned and cocked back the hammer of Crescent Rose in scythe mode.

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes.

And just like that they all dispersed. Jaune threw a Kunai in between a Beowolf's bone mask hitting its eye. The creature began thrashing around while roaring in pain, Jaune ran up to it and used his hand to force the Kunai further into its eye so it pierced the brain. Using the momentum of his charge Jaune did a one arm handstand, simultaneously using his free hand to pull out four shuriken in between his fingers. He pushed off the now dead Grimm hooking his index finger into the Kunai's ring pulling it out. While airborne Jaune did an upside down corkscrew while throwing four Shuriken.

The shuriken hit two nearby Beowolves in the neck two for two. By the time Jaune landed they were already dead and since the others were still busy, he wiped off the Kunai, put it back in the pouch, drew his Wakizashi and headed straight for the Alpha who wasn't attacking.

From the corner of her eye Pyrrha gazed in wonder as Jaune charged the alpha, _'he took down three already.'_

Pyrrha had just used Milo's sword form sword to pierce a Beowolf's throat. She back flipped away from another lunge, and then had to use Akuo to block a claw attack. She shield bash the claw away causing Beowolf #1 to stumble back simultaneously spinning then sailing Akuo like a frisbee right into the snout of the charging Beowolf #2. Pyrrha changed Milo into its javelin form and swiped it at #1, using its longer range to injure the creature.

The shield ricochet off of #2, it tripped on its own feet mid charge. After slashing #1 with her javelin, Pyrrha spun and caught Akuo, Milo was already transforming into its Carbine form. Pyrrha kneeled and began firing; the bullets pierced its heart and throat leaving two holes and it dropped dead.

With a final spin the Spartan twirled the Carbine as it transformed into a javelin and threw it straight into the chest of the Beowolf #2 with the cracked bone mask. Not wasting time Pyrrha grabbed Milo before #2 could even drop and went to provide assistance to her partner.

Ruby swung Crescent Rose and a hapless Beowolf was bisected, she then aimed the muzzle on top of the scythe and fired. Another Beowolf's kneecaps were destroyed and it fell down, Ruby jumped and swung Crescent Rose down in a wide arc, she fired when it was directly above to get more force in her swing. The action made Crescent Rose pierce the top of the Beowolf's bone mask. Looking over her work with pride, she failed to notice a Beowolf silently creeping up on her, or did she?

Just as Ruby turned around to swing at it, a javelin ran through its side leaving the girl to gawk at its thrower

"Hey, I had that one" she complained with a pout.

Pyrrha ran up, pulled the javelin out the dead Grimm and not bothering to glance at Ruby shouted "I'm sorry" before running.

Ruby was confused seeing her urgency until she saw Jaune engaging the alpha and then she too started running to assist her friend.

Weiss impaled a Beowolf and it instantly froze from the inside out, she hopped back as another Beowolf swiped its claws at her, shattering its comrade but missing her. As soon as her foot touched down a glyph shot her at frightening speed, she ended up just behind the now confused Beowolf, slashing the Grimm as she came to a stop. Suddenly lightning shot through the Grimm's body, burning it to a crisp before it fell dead.

Weiss exhaled slowly and turned to find Pyrrha and Ruby, she looked around and Jaune wasn't where she last saw him. Her attention was averted when she turned her attention to the one eyed blonde, Pyrrha and Ruby stood on either side of her watching the spectacle before them.

The alpha Beowolf swiped its massive claw at him, Jaune jumped over the strike, grasped both hands on its paw and swung his body around (like an Olympic gymnast) so that his heels connected with its face

There was a loud *CRACK* as the alpha's bone mask was smashed across its face, Jaune did a corkscrew jump, landing just a few feet away from it. The disoriented Alpha stumbled away but suddenly stopped and almost fell; it looked at its arm in confusion. Jaune was just a few feet away crouched with one leg spread apart, he held both his fist up to his face.

The three girls were just as confused as the Alpha because it seemed that its arm was being held in place by an invisible force. Jaune smirked then reared back his arms and at the same time the alpha's arm was ripped off and shredded in a bloody mess. The three girls were wide eyed.

Jaune retracted his fiber wires into his gloves watching the Alpha stumble back with blood gushing from its arm, it stumbled near a tree. With his short blade in hand held up to his face in a reverse grip, Jaune shot forward, staying low he slashed behind the Alpha's leg, it knelt down howling in pain.

Jaune didn't stop; he sheathed his short sword while running up a tree before up jumping off it while doing a corkscrew. Jaune reached into his back pouched and fished out eight shuriken, while he was upside down during the corkscrew Jaune threw the shuriken at it. Ruby and Pyrrha were disheartened when all of them missed their mark. The shuriken passed by the alpha four on either side of it, they flew pass a tree, that's when Jaune righted himself in the air.

To the three girl's surprise the shuriken changed trajectory, they came back and circled around the alpha as if possessed. That's when the girls saw what they missed before, the thin black wires attached to the shuriken were wrapped around the alpha. The alpha roared in pain when Jaune landed facing it, kneeling down with his arms crossed in an 'X' and the shuriken hooked into its skin.

Jaune shot backwards, the shuriken and fiber wires digging into its skin causing it to bleed and howl in pain. The three girls all cringed as Jaune began pull on the fiber wires pushing his arms out while the alpha's screams got louder as more blood seeped through the widening wounds. Jaune exhaled sharply before giving a final thrust, spreading his arms out wide at his sides.

For a moment the girls saw the alpha reduced to bloody parts before it was reduced to nothing. Jaune used his chakra to retract the fiber wires and caught the shuriken each between his fingers.

"Phew" he sighed before looking at the three girls "oh you guys were finished?"

There was silence.

Not noticing or just ignoring their reluctance to speak, he continued "sorry I took so long, it was tougher than I thought."

There was still silence.

This time he was slightly worried "are you guys okay?"

"That was amazing!" Ruby cheered while jumping. She ran up to him "how'd you do that? Was it your semblance? If not can you show me how to do it?"

Pyrrha managed to compose herself as she watched her partner awkwardly answer Ruby's questions. She couldn't help but smile at the sight and reconfirmed that she chose wisely in him.

Weiss on the other hand was taking the shock the hardest, it was clear from the beginning that she didn't think very much of him character wise that is. The way how he carried himself, not to mention how he disrespected her would suggest that he was a joker and his skills would be just enough for him to scrape through the combat tests to enter Beacon.

Clearly she was wrong, the skill he just showed in beating that Alpha with mostly his physical strength, not to mention that he wasn't even winded in the slightest means that he was above average. Of course she still believed she can beat him but it wouldn't be easy and she'd have to work for her victory.

Shaking her head she composed herself and glared at the duo "if you two are done, we have an initiation to finish" she chided.

They both glanced at her "right" Ruby chirped but then lost her smile "does anyone know where we should go?"

There was a silence as everyone looked around.

Weiss coughed in her fist "o-of course I do, its" she paused looking around "that way" she pointed in a direction and began walking.

"I thought it was this way" Pyrrha spoke causing the heiress to freeze, then turn around slowly.

Ruby looked confused before pointing in a separate direction from both of them "I think it's this way" she didn't sound confident in her answer.

They all looked among each other before on by one glancing at Jaune starting with Pyrrha and ending with Weiss. Jaune didn't seem to be paying attention to them as he had his wrist close to his face. Jaune was glancing from his watch then to the sky, occasionally shifting his body to a different position or turning all the while mumbling to himself.

"Jaune?" Ruby spoke but he didn't stop

"Jaune!" Pyrrha spoke a little louder

"What in Dusts name are you doing!?" Weiss all but yelled.

Jaune looked up from what he was doing and came face to face with two worried redheads and a fuming heiress. He looked up in the sky then at his watch before slowly raising his hand

"…that way" he pointed to his side.

"Huh?" was the collective response

"North" he began "is that way" he glanced from his watch to the sky then back on the three girls "so we should probably get going." He finished before walking off in that direction

Weiss crossed her arms "and how did you come to that conclusion?" she asked

Jaune held up his watch "I used the position of the sun and the small hand on my watch to determine which way is north."

They all looked confused, "uh let me explain, see the sun sets in the west and rises in the east, every hour it moves about 15 degrees from east to west and at high noon or 12 o' clock in the afternoon the sun is directly north." He paused "Are you following?"

They all nodded "okay just checking. Anyway, I took a look at my watch and it is a little after 9 o' clock" he pointed to the sun and they all followed to gaze at the burning orb "so, all I did was move 45 degrees clockwise from the sun's position. So now I am approximately where the sun would be at 12 o' clock aka north, which is _that_ way."

"I'm pretty sure if we follow this path we'd come across the ruins eventually" he began walking only to turn back, apparently the girls are still reeling from his explanation "are you girls coming?"

Ruby and Pyrrha glanced at each other before following him. Weiss was taking longer to come out of her shock. _Again_ he managed to leave her questioning her skills of observation. She underestimated his _intellect_ ; Weiss would never admit to anyone that she would have been lost right now. Weiss decided she would have to keep a close eye on him.


	4. The Beacon Initiation Part 2

**Author's Notes: Well I've gone ahead and written out 8 more chapters of this and I intend to keep it that way. I'm working with a system where I finish write a few chapters which constitutes an 'Arc' pun intended. This means that I publish said chapters weekly and once that Arc is finished I go on a kind of hiatus until I finish another Arc and continue the process. It's kinda like how they do with mangas and volumes.**

 **So as it stands with this new approach, I will publish two chapters this week to make up for last week's absence, sorry about that by the way. Right now we're at the 'Initiation Arc' so going by weekly standards it would be until the end of December before the Arc finishes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Beacon Initiation Part 2**

"Our last pair has been formed sir" Glynda walked up to Ozpin with her scroll in hand.

The device showed a video of Nora hanging upside down 'booping' Ren on his nose.

"Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, poor boy, I can't imagine those two getting along" she sighed before continuing "I fear he may be worst off as far as having competent partners go" she slide the scroll as it showed Jaune and Pyrrha "unlike Miss Nikos and Mr. Arc who seem to be the most competent partnership I've seen."

Ozpin hummed while giving her a side glance.

"It would seem that the letter of recommendation from the Arc household held true to its word. That Jaune fellow has a good head on his shoulders along with excellent combat proficiency" she complimented remembering his earlier fight with the Beowolf and his clever use of everyday commodity as means of survival.

She sighed again "I guess we'll find out soon enough" she turned and began to walk away. "At their current pace they should reach the temple in just a few minutes." She stopped to look at Ozpin "speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year? Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin didn't respond, he had an amused expression while watching the video of Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss. A simple "Hmm" came from him.

Meanwhile Weiss took the lead from Jaune, not that he even cared since they weren't in a competition for leadership. Instead he found himself reading his book with one eye on the page and one hand in his pocket.

"Hey Jaune" his gaze was averted to the younger huntress-in-training for a split second in acknowledgement.

"Yes Ruby" he answered

"What're you reading?" Ruby asked because she can't understand the words written on the cover.

Jaune looked forward to find Weiss having a conversation with Pyrrha and the Spartan actually seemed interested. Jaune leaned closer to Ruby.

"Secret ninja stuff" he whispered to her ear. Ruby was about to squeal but Jaune put a finger to his lips "shh, it's a secret remember?"

Ruby immediately covered her mouth and nodded then whispered "what kind of secret?"

He frowned "I'm sorry I can't tell you."

Ruby was crestfallen "aww" she held both hands to her chest and gave him the sad eyes.

Jaune narrowed his eye "no"

Ruby countered his 'no' with a puppy dog pout.

Jaune's eye widened ' _oh no'_ he thought in panic.

"The answer is still no" he answered adamantly while folding his arms and looked away.

Ruby could see a bead of sweat running down the side of his face _'just one more push'_ she thought. "Jaune" she called

Jaune turned to look at her and his eye widened more with his mouth half opened. Ruby lips were now quivering and she looked closed to crying.

Jaune gritted his teeth _'I've stared into the eyes of a goliath and had no fear'_ he thought adamantly but he could feel his grip slipping. _'I will not bend. I will not break. I will not shift. I will not shake.'_ He began chanting this mantra.

Ruby sniffled and it was Jaune's breaking pointing he opened his mouth "I-Ruby I.."

"Hey you two, we're here" Weiss called out

"will get right back to you on that" the blonde finished before rushing to meet Weiss and Pyrrha.

Ruby was left to mutter under her breath about 'stupid Weiss' and how she 'was so close' before dragging her feet to where the rest of them were.

Jaune stood with Weiss and Pyrrha at the entrance of "a cave?" Jaune said in disbelief.

He looked to Weiss who nodded with pride and then to Pyrrha who shrugged looking a little put off by the heiress' claims. Ruby burrowed through Jaune and Pyrrha

"You think this is it?" the cloaked girl asked

"Um"

"Of course it is!" Weiss answered before Jaune.

Ruby looked a bit apprehensive and turned to the only boy there "Jaune?"

Jaune rubbed the back of neck looking from Ruby and Pyrrha's expectant faces to Weiss' glare.

"Uh" he coughed in his fist "it looks more like an, uh," his eyes began shifting "Deathstalker's cave" he said the last words quickly and in a lower voice.

"What was that?" Weiss asked coldly.

"Well" he began as he approached the cave "see those tracks on the ground' he pointed to the big faded holes in the dirt barely noticeable, leading to inside the cave "then there are those scrape markings at the cave mouth up there" they followed his gave to see the top of the cave mouth and the sides "probably from its stingers and claws" he added "and finally, **that"** he pointed to the cave drawings of stickmen with spears fighting a giant scorpion.

Okay that last bit, they definitely saw it, but a certain white haired huntress-in-training was getting more than a little irked that a scraggly boy was showing her up. Her pride as a Schnee will not have it and so even though his explanation made sense Weiss decided to go against him

"We'll see about that" she said before walking inside.

"Wait Weiss! Ruby shouted frantically "what're you doing, Jaune said that it's a Deathstalker's cave."

"So?" she began, turning around to glare at Jaune "Professor Ozpin could have disguised it as one to throw us off. Haven't you ever heard of an underground Temple Ruin before?" She turned on her heel and left.

Ruby turned from the withdrawing heiress to Jaune and Pyrrha. Jaune sighed and picked up a piece of dry wood then scratching two stones together to ignite it. He handed the torch to Ruby

"Go after your partner and watch your step"

She accepted it and Ran after Weiss "Weiss, wait for me!" she yelled.

After Ruby was out of sight Pyrrha looked at her partner with concern "are you alright Jaune?"

He sighed "have you ever heard the saying 'Pride Goethe Before a Fall' Pyrrha?" he turned to her, she nodded "well Weiss is about to fall" he finished turning away from her to re examine the cave entrance _'and from the looks of the size, she's going to fall hard.'_ He thought darkly.

"Do you have a plan for if there is a Deathstalker in there?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, I do" he said still examining the cave entrance he stopped to glance at his partner who was looking at him expectantly "I'm going to need your help setting a trap for it." He finished seriously.

Her expression became serious as well and she nodded, Jaune smiled at this and reached into his back pouch. Pyrrha was slightly confused when he took out rectangular shaped red paper with a symbol written on them

"I'm so glad I went with my gut and brought these" he commented counting them off.

"What're those?" Pyrrha inched closer to get a look at them

"They're explosive tags" Jaune answered "and they are _really_ expensive" he added much to Pyrrha's confusion.

' _How could paper be explosive?'_ she questioned internally _'unless.'_ "Are they Dust powered?" she questioned.

Jaune looked at her then at the tags "you know" he began with a far off look "I've never got around to actually ask how they explode" there was a pause as Pyrrha watch him in deep thought.

Jaune came back to reality with a blink and turned to Pyrrha "what I _do_ know is that it doesn't use Dust" he said with confidence "but that doesn't mean they aren't effective." He gave her two "now come on, we have to set them."

She glanced at the tag before taking it, trusting her partner whole heartedly "alright where do I put them?"

Jaune scoped the landscape and stood in front of the cave "okay, if there is a Deathstalker then I know that Weiss and Ruby are going to come out to try and fight it so put them ten paces apart on the ground starting from those trees." He pointed to two trees just at the mouth of the cave.

Jaune went in the cave and jumped when Pyrrha had her back turned, using chakra he knelt upside down on the cave ceiling and placed one of the tags on the ceiling out of Pyrrha's view. Jaune placed another one at the mouth of the cave afterwards he saw Pyrrha was finished

' _I pray to Monty I don't have to use all of them'_ Jaune thought morbidly, just then the sounds of Weiss and Ruby's scream was heard.

"I'm finished Jaune" Pyrrha said readying Milo and Akuo.

Jaune ran up to her and ushered her further away "you need to stay clear of those tags Pyrrha, they pack a helluva punch." He informed her.

"Looks like I was right" Pyrrha saw him take the last tag and wrap it around the hilt of a kunai.

Jaune and Pyrrha were surprised to see a red blur zip out of the cave leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. Ruby stopped a few meters away from the cave with crescent Rose in its sniper mode; she looked around confusedly trying to find Jaune and Pyrrha

"Ruby!" they both yelled and the red cloaked girl turned to see them ushering her over, just then Weiss seemed to skate out the cave next to Ruby with her rapier pointing at the cave.

Ruby grabbed Weiss who protested "hey what are yo-" she never finished her sentence as Ruby grabbed her hand and zipped over to where her friends are.

There was a low rumble that gradually got louder, Jaune stood in front of the girls who had their weapons out and ready

Jaune looked to Ruby "Deathstalker?" he questioned

" _Huge_ Deathstalker!" Ruby answered.

The Deathstalker burst out the cave destroying part of the cave entrance and two trees where the explosive tag was. It did a low screech with its pincers shifting together; ready to attack it's prey.

Jaune did a two finger hand seal "Kah"

At that the explosive tag went off under the Grimm causing it to screech in pain and stumble back.

' _Wait for it'_ he thought as the Grimm shakily retreated a bit until

"Kah" another explosion went off under the Deathstalker causing it to howl in pain. This time it set its sight on Jaune as it reared up for an attack.

Jaune saw this and threw the Kunai with lightning speed; the dagger stuck into one of the Deathstalker's eye "kah" with it exploded taking all the eyes on the left side of its face in the blast. It reared back retreating to its cave

' _Alright, time to finish it'_ Jaune thought before a final "kah." The tag under the Deathstalker went off forcing it further inside, and then the other one on the ceiling went off causing a cave in that buried it under a pile of rubble.

Jaune exhaled slowly before turning to Weiss "told you it was Deathstalker's cave."

Weiss turned her head with a huff and sheathed her Rapier. Jaune saw how confused Ruby was and thought to just save her the trouble of asking the obvious question.

"If you're wondering what just happened, Pyrrha and I set explosives on the ground in case there was Deathstalker in that cave." He turned to Pyrrha "I used my Aura to remote detonate the tags" he lied smoothly "you're not going to find them in any stores, only my family makes them" he added for good measure.

Pyrrha seemed content with the explanation, for now at least. She still felt that he was hiding some of the information but she wasn't one to pry.

"So, is it dead?" Ruby asked curiously while eyeing the rubble.

"Well yeah" he said in an obvious way "I mean I detonated those tags _under_ its soft under belly that doesn't have any armor. Blew its face off and collapse a cave on it. If that thing is still alive then it is one tough-"

*CRASH* *SCREEEEEEEEECCCHHHHH*

' _Son of A bitch!'_ He mentally finished.

Blood was dripping from under the Deathstalker, all the eyes on the left side of its face was scorched and the stinger was barely hanging on, other than that its hard shell was covered with dirt and dented somewhat.

"Do you have any more of those tags" Pyrrha asked, backing up.

"No, I didn't think I'd even need _one_ let alone five and it still didn't kill it!"

"So anymore bright ideas, genius? Because it's staring right at **you** " Weiss said condescendingly while arching farther from the group.

"No it's staring at all of us" Jaune assured nervously

"Actually Jaune" Ruby said slowly stepping away to the right side with Weiss "I'm pretty sure it's just staring at _you_ "

Jaune looked at Ruby and Weiss who were suddenly farther away and gave them a 'seriously' expression before facing the Deathstalker

' _oh my Oum it really is staring at me.'_

"Jaune, you _do_ have a plan don't you?" Pyrrha asked nervously very tempted to follow Weiss and Ruby's lead in moving away but decided against it _'he's your partner Pyrrha, you shouldn't lose faith, especially now. He hasn't let you down since you met him.'_

"Alright" Jaune announced "run into the forest as soon as you see smoke" Jaune commanded.

"Smoke?" Pyrrha wondered out loud confused.

Taking a closer look at Jaune's hand she saw several black balls in hand. She began to edge backwards until

"NOW!" he shouted throwing several smoke bombs at the Deathstalker.

While the Deathstalker shook off the smoke its prey was already running but still in view. It charged in a bloody rage at one specific blonde, plowing through obstacles that came in the form of trees.

Ruby looked back and her eyes widened before ducking an overhead branch she turned her attention to her friend

"Um, please tell me you have a plan because I don't think we're going to outrun it for long" Ruby asked desperately.

Both Weiss and Pyrrha turned to the blonde while Jaune was looking around with a serious expression and smirked

"Weiss" he began getting her attention since it was the first time he use her real name "how much blue dust does your Rapier have?"

Weiss blinked and looked to be in thought "enough to trap it if that's what you're thinking."

Jaune nodded before turning to his partner "I really hope you're stronger than you look Pyrrha" The Spartan narrowed her eyes a little "not that I think your weak or anyth-"

"Would you just tell us what you have in mind already!?" Weiss interrupted/yelled in frustration

"Okay, geez" he surrendered "alright ladies, here's the plan."

* * *

Meanwhile

A certain green themed boy was chasing after his orange haired partner who was currently riding an Ursa.

"Nora!" Ren shouted to his partner.

His shouts fell on deaf ears as the girl was too busy whooping and hollering in excitement, much to the dismay of her unwilling steed. The pitiable creature stumbled, jerked and bucked to throw the girl off, however it only served to excite the girl even more. This went on until something else caught the girl's eye and she grinned in excitement.

Ren heard Nora's weapon in the distance, which could only mean one thing he thought as he ran towards where his friend should be. What he found however was the corpse of the Ursa she was riding not too long ago

' _She got bored'_ he thought then a feeling of dread came over him _'or she found something else more_ _ **fun**_ _'_ he finished morbidly.

"Nora?" he called out as he followed her hurried tracks until he found her crouching under the bushes.

Nora glanced behind her and placed her index finger on her lips before shushing him. "Be quiet or you'll scare it away" she whispered.

Ren raised an eyebrow before slowly approaching her; he crouched down and peered over the bushes. The moment his eyes landed on 'it' the color started draining from his body because 'it' happened to be a giant Nevermore in its nest.

"Nora" he began as he turned to face her, only to see the outline of where she was "oh no".

A loud screech immediately made him turn to the Nevermore which was currently being straddled by Nora who was on its neck. She had one had gripping the feathers while the other hand was waving her grenade launcher around. The Grimm was trying to violently shake her off but to no avail.

"Yeehaw!" she shouted with glee before discharging her weapon point blank at the creatures head, dazing it a little.

The Nevermore shook its head before spreading its wings to prepare for takeoff. Ren sighed before running after the creature that began flapping its wings. Stormflower came out of his sleeves and with an Aura infused leap Ren managed to jumped and hook his blades into the side of the Nevermore, eliciting a pained screech before taking flight.

* * *

"You think this is it?" Yang asked.

Her partner glanced her way before silently walking over to the ruins. Yang wasn't one to criticize people for their personality quirks but she did find it a little annoying sometimes that her partner wouldn't engage in conversation much.

"Chess Pieces?" Blake questioned glancing over the black and gold Chess pieces.

"Some of them are missing" her blonde partner commented before glancing at her "looks like we're not the first ones here."

"Well I guess we should pick one" Blake concluded.

Walking over to the Knight piece Yang hummed before picking it up "how 'bout a cute little pony?" she joked.

Blake rolled her eyes at her partner's immaturity but smiled nonetheless "sure".

"Now that wasn't too hard" Yang commented.

"Well It's not like this place is hard to find" Blake informed.

"YAHOO~"

They were both jolted from their musings by the cheers of a third party.

"That sounds like a girl" Yang paused with an incredulous face "cheering?" she questioned.

"What do you think Blake?" she turned to find her partner not paying the slightest attention to her in favor of looking up in the sky.

"Blake, what do you think we should do?" she asked again but still no answer from her partner. "Blake?"

The black hair girl didn't say anything in fact her mouth widened a bit in disbelief as she pointed to the sky.

Yang looked at her "what?" she then looked up and her face mirrored her partner's "what in the-" she paused mid sentence to mirror Blake's expression.

In the sky they could clearly make out what looks to be a girl on top of a giant Nevermore with a boy in green attached to the side. The girl had a grin and waved around her grenade launcher like a sword as the Nevermore dive bombed. Then it hit Blake and Yang that the Nevermore was headed STRAIGHT FOR THEM!

While Yang was still looking at the scene in disbelief Blake dragged her to the side "let's go!" she urged.

Yang finally snapped out of her stupor and ran to the side making sure she was clear from the projected crash landing. Ren unhooked one of Stormflower's blades and began shooting the Nevermore's wing while hanging on for dear life

"Nora!" he shouted as the Nevermore began spiraling out of control due to the loss of a wing.

"Yes Renny!" she shouted still smiling calmly

"Shoot its wing!" he said as he followed the action, unloading an entire clip into the large Grimm.

"Okie-dokie" she replied and fired several rockets into the wing and rendering it useless.

As the nevermore began spiraling out of control both of them jumped off before it touchdown, dive rolling to their feet to look at the results. The Nevermore crashed into the ground before skidding into the ruins, knocking over the chess pieces, it crashed into the back of the ruin where it lay.

"That, was, Amazing!" Nora cheered "we should do it again, but where are going to find another giant bird? Wait maybe we can use something else ooh I know how about-"

"Nora" her partner said calmly while dusting himself off.

"Yes Ren" she replied with a bright smile.

"Please don't do that again" he stated simply.

On the sidelines the black and yellow pair looked at the new arrivals in utter incredulity before Blake spoke out

"Did they just rode on a giant Nevermore and crashed it into the ruins?"

 _To Be Continued_


	5. The Beacon Initiation Part 3

**Chapter 5: The Beacon Initiation Part 3**

In the emerald forest several trees were knocked down and the loud, disgruntled screech of a large Grimm could be heard. Near the carnage, hiding behind some trees, four figures could be seen; three girls and one boy.

"So are we clear on the plan then?" Jaune asked looking amongst his allies

"Got it" Ruby nodded and so did Pyrrha.

They all looked to Weiss and she sighed but maintained her serious expression "I'll go along with this since we're clearly not getting away from it"

He grinned "alright Pyr, let's draw its attention" he turned to the heiress "I'll trust you to know when to hold it Weiss" he looked at her with all seriousness.

Weiss huffed "as if I couldn't handle something menial like this" she concluded.

With that the Ninja and Spartan ran out Pyrrha shot at it. The bullets ricochet off its burnt yet hard shell but it managed to get its attention.

"Over here four eyes" Jaune shouted as he threw a Kunai at its eye.

Recognizing it from before the Deathstalker used its claws to shield its face. The Kunai bounced off its appendage and landed a few feet away, yet it didn't move, instead awaiting the explosion to occur. It was rewarded with nothing; it looked at the Kunai then at the retreating humans before screeching even louder in anger for being tricked.

Ruby and Weiss waited for the Deathstalker to charge a few meters away before they started Jaune's idea or operation 'pin the stinger on the Deathstalker' as Ruby named it to be.

"Now" Weiss led the charge using her Glyph to sneak up on the rampaging Deathstalker before jumping up and striking Myrtenaster at it with the dial set to blue dust.

The result was having most of the Deathstalker encased in ice. The only part that was fully free was its stinger which it was using to smash against the ice

"Arc now!" Weiss shouted then moved to the side quickly.

With great speed Jaune leapt from a tree branch sending out shuriken attached to fiber wires to bind its tail. The wires wrapped around the tail keeping it in place. The shuriken spread throughout the standing trees with Jaune holding it in place so the tail doesn't move.

"Ruby you're up!" the boy shouted.

"On it" she replied.

Ruby ran towards the pinned Deathstalker and jumped in the air firing Crescent Roses to gain more height before swinging horizontally, firing again to gain more momentum in her swing. The added momentum allowed Ruby to cut the stinger off the Deathstalker, the tip landing on its shelled head.

Ruby landed in a crouch with Crescent Rose arched over her back "your turn Pyrrha" she shouted before running to the side to give the Spartan some room as she ran towards the neutered Grimm.

By this time the Deathstalker knew what they were up to and began to desperately break free. The ice began to crack and one of its pincers was free and ready to claim its redheaded prize but Pyrrha wasn't slowing down in fact she sped up her pace. She held Milo in front of her with both hands while charging directly for the Deathstalker.

Its pincer struck out at Pyrrha but just then a white glyph appeared under the Spartan and she was propelled up. She did a mid air flip to land upside down on _another_ of Weiss' glyph in a crouched position. Time seemed to slow down as Pyrrha took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The Glyph she was on had a clock that counted up and that's when her eyes snapped open to see that she was right on top of the stinger that was stuck on top of the Deathstalker. Without a second to spare Pyrrha was sent crashing into the stinger with such force that the stinger plunged through the hard shell and into soft tissue rendering the Deathstalker lifeless.

Jaune rushed over towards his stumbling partner and held her "are you alright?" he asked, while her up.

Pyrrha blushed at how close he was but that was gone when a pain shot up her shield arm "I-I'm fine, just hurts a little" she responded with a smile.

Jaune wasn't convinced, he took off her shield ignoring her small protests he looked over her arm "nothing's broken thank Oum. Except for this large bruise I think your hand is sprained."

Pyrrha saw the grimace on his face and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder "don't worry Jaune, my Aura can take care of this damage in a few minutes" she smiled at him.

"Oh" he responded getting a quizzical look from her. He forgot that he was surrounded by people who had Aura for a minute, meaning that things that could be lethal for him isn't for them. He averted his gaze and began to nervously scratch the back of his head _'well this is embarrassing'_ he thought.

"Jaune" he met her big green eyes "are you alright?" she looked at his hands and so did he.

' _Crap'_ he mentally shouted. His fingers were cut by the fiber wires when the Deathstalker tried to break free. The cuts were small but he was bleeding, he needed to bandage that himself "yeah I'm fine" he gave her some space and walked to a corner with his back turned to her.

Ruby and Weiss soon caught up with them "that plan was awesome Jaune" Ruby congratulated but he didn't respond "Jaune?" she questioned.

Jaune looked up at the sky then turned around "we should go now. We might've attracted other Grimm with our fight." He concluded.

As he walked pass Pyrrha noticed a drop of blood on the ground where he was standing, her eyes widened. She then looked at his hands and saw small droplets of blood

"You're bleeding" Pyrrha spoke up suddenly and Jaune froze.

"Excuse me?" Weiss spoke.

Pyrrha walked past the heiress and stood behind Jaune "You're bleeding aren't you?"

Ruby stifled a laugh "aw come on Pyrrha Jaune couldn't be bleeding" she waved it off but the Spartan didn't.

Finally Jaune turned around "Pyrrha" he took off his gloves "it's just a flesh wound I'll be fine" he concluded.

"Then why didn't you heal it with your Aura?" she asked accusingly. His Aura should have shielded him from getting an insignificant 'flesh wound' in the first place.

Jaune figured that she knew this and so he didn't answer, instead he looked off to the side, as if deciding something before he turned to his partner and looked her in the eye "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" her eyes widened in realization "you mean your Aura isn't unlocked."

This caught Ruby and Weiss' attention and the heiress spoke out "that's preposterous" she began "how can he be accepted into Beacon if his Aura isn't even unlocked yet?"

The very notion _is_ preposterous since without Aura he wouldn't be able to properly survive as a hunter against threats. But the fact that a wound as small as those aren't healing is irrefutable evidence that his Aura isn't unlocked, but then

"How did you get accepted into Beacon?" Weiss asked

"My family used its influence to get me enrolled" _'against my wishes'_ he mentally added. "A letter of acceptance was sent to me directly from professor Ozpin" he concluded with an uncaring shrug.

"What!" she said with new found hatred for the blonde.

She had a valid reason for her hate though, although she took pride in her family's name she would never use its influence to get _anything_ , preferring to work for it. That was what she has been doing since she was twelve, training, studying, spending hours upon hours perfecting her combat prowess and Semblance. The very notion that he practically _cheated_ his way into Beacon made her slender hands balled into a shaky fist.

"Weiss" Pyrrha began calmly and gently "if professor Ozpin himself accepted Jaune's enrollment as a 'special case' then he wouldn't be the first person" at that all eyes fell on Ruby who blushed slightly with her hands behind her back.

"That and" she turned back to Weiss "do you believe that Jaune has done anything that shows he doesn't belong here as much as any of us?"

Weiss opened her mouth to protest but closed it in defeat. She had nothing to say, the fact is that he has shown himself to be as competent as any **above** average initiate. But still, now that she thought about it _how_ could he do all those things _without_ any Aura then?

"Then all we have to do is unlock Jaune's Aura" Ruby beamed, Pyrrha seemed to agree with her and smiled warmly at Jaune.

"It's more complicated than that Ruby" he deadpanned.

"It's true" Weiss commented "unlocking someone else's Aura drains the Aura of the person whose unlocking it. If it's not done properly then that person can suffer from Aura exhaustion and be in need of serious medical attention" She concluded.

"Well yes" he agreed "but that's not what I meant" they all looked at him curiously "I don't have any Aura for you to unlock." He concluded.

Everyone gave him a confused expression, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "let me explain, my situation is kinda special, I wasn't born with the capacity to create or use Aura" he paused and they gave him a blank expression "at all" still gave him a blank expression "do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Not really" Ruby said meekly

He groaned "okay since explaining it won't do any good" he looked Pyrrha in the eye "Pyrrha 'unlock' my Aura please." He asked

"Didn't you hear a single word I said?" Weiss spouted.

"Don't worry because I guarantee **nothing** will happen" he said adamantly before closing his eye.

Pyrrha hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on his cheek before she too closed her eyes and was emitted in the red glow of her Aura and then began to recite her oath

" _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death."_

Pyrrha then placed her hand on his chest to complete the process _"I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."_ She finished

To her, Ruby and Weiss' surprise though, Jaune exhibited no outward change even as Pyrrha stopped glowing. She too didn't feel as if anything changed no fatigue or anything really.

"Did it work?" Ruby sounded unsure.

"Only one way to find out" Jaune responded before pulling out a Kunai and cutting his thumb without so much as flinching. He held it up for all of them to see and they got up close expecting something only for the small trail of blood to continue going down.

"T-that's not possible" Weiss said looking from the cut to his face.

Jaune now found himself facing three worried, confused and shocked glances.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not _completely_ defenseless without Aura" He half whined, half stated

' _But that's a secret I'm going to keep for now. Maybe if we end up on the same team I'll tell you but for now"_ he thought before turning to leave _"I would rather not have that information recorded on camera.'_ He said eyeing the camera, that was the reason why he shot down using Genjutsu, sure he could fool the three of them but then video footage doesn't lie and he can't tamper with a live stream.

With those thoughts he sighed in defeat and walked away with the girls in tow.

' _You won this round technology'_ It was times like this that made him wish he was born in the Shinobi era, at least that way he could wear a cool face mask without drawing attention to himself, like his anscestor.

Ozpin looked at the screen of his scroll with a raised eyebrow "very shrewd indeed Mr. Arc" he commented idly.

* * *

Meanwhile four initiates were scrambling to get away from an irate Nevermore with a clipped wing. It should have been easy to finish off a grounded aerial Grimm for obvious reasons, however it proved to be a nimble one. Plus it still had one good wing and is able to shoot

"Incoming feathers" Yang shouted as she dive rolled away right next to Ren

"Please tell me one of you guys have some kind of plan" she questioned the stoic boy beside her.

Ren was watching Blake and Nora engage it. Nora fired grenades at it but using its one wing was able to make giant leaps away from the blast radius. Blake went in its blind spot to try and flank it using Gambol Shroud as a Kusarigama to swing against its back. It gave an annoyed shriek and turned its attention to Blake before pecking at her.

Using her semblance Blake left a clone in its place and escaped. With its attention momentarily off her, Nora fired another grenade that hit its target forcing the bird to retreat further while keeping its focus on the ones in front of it.

Ren noticed where it is currently backing up to and turned to Yang "we need to flank it then force it off the bridge" he concluded before going jumping in the fray.

"Good idea" the blonde boxer commended before going after him "you and your partner take the front Blake and I will hit it from behind?" she suggested

"No" he said and she quirked her eyebrow "we need to make sure it's in the middle before you pincer it and it's keeping an eye on our partners" he looked at her and her mouth formed an 'O.'

"So we have to sneak behind it until its way in the middle, then try and force it to fall off?"

"Exactly" he responded glad that she got it, he wasn't used to talking

With that they both joined the fray with Ren shouting "Nora, drive it to the bridge!"

"Okay~" she happily replied as her fire became more concentrated instead of sporadic.

Yang discharged Ember Celica on its side while Ren and Blake rained bullets from the front, once it was close to going over the bridge it made a miss step and looked down before squawking in alarm.

"Damn, it knows!" Yang shouted in alarm

"Engage it" Ren shouted as he and Blake went after it Nora going as well.

The Nevermore began trying to dash from the bridge into the open field but was halted by a hailstorm of fire.

Ren looked to Blake "can your clones be used as stepping stones?" he asked curiously to which Blake nodded after a pause he continued "I need you give Nora a boost so she can use her hammer to disorient it"

"What then?" she asked curiously wondering where he was getting at.

"The two of us take out its eyes and then" he paused to look at Yang "your partner will drive it off the stone path" he concluded.

After a moment to think over the plan she nodded in agreement "alright"

"Did you get that" he turned to Yang

"Crystal" she stated still firing off rounds as Blake and Nora charge it.

The Nevermore shot its feathers at them but a few grenades from Magnhild deflected the projectiles and another one saw Nora soaring towards the Nevermore that backed further away to prepare to fire more feathers.

However Blake sent a clone out for her to step on to which she did, changing Magnhild to its hammer form before smashing it on the Nevermore's head. Nora grinned and pulled the trigger, the resulting explosion propelled her to the other side of the bridge with a flip while the Nevermore's head smashed into the bridge.

Ren and Blake rushed it at breakneck speeds and in one fluid motion slashed its eyes before back flipping away to leave room for a grinning Yang stampeding her way to the thrashing Grimm as it screeched in pain. Yang did a mighty leap landing right in its beak, she used one hand and foot to keep it open while the other one pumped round after round of shotgun shells in the Grimm's mouth

"I, hope, you're, hungry" she shouted while the Grimm was thrashing violently in pain.

Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss came out of the forest just in time to see it and while the girls stopped to gawk Jaune shrugged and continued walking after taking a look at their situation

"It looks like they have everything under control" he said and they looked at him to which he pointed at what was left of the ruins "we should collect the relics before any _other_ Grimm show up."

Weiss huffed but followed anyway while Pyrrha looked worriedly at her partner before going as well, leaving Ruby to look from her friends to her sister.

Meanwhile Yang had finally managed to get the Nevermore's foot off the bridge and as such it began to topple over and after one more shot for the road the blonde boxer back flipped off its beak and watched its descent into the crevice. It tried to uselessly flap its wings but to no avail until its body hit a protruding rock did it gain a mortal wound and it lifelessly fell into the pitch blackness.

Seeing the Nevermore defeated Ruby vanished in a swirl of rose petals before appearing next to Jaune who smiled at her.

"I told you they had it under control" he said.

"Argh" Weiss huffed "look at this place. How in Remnant did this even happen?" she questioned.

"I believe it had something to do with that Nevermore" Pyrrha answered.

"What're we suppose to be trying to find anyway?" Ruby asked innocently

"This" Jaune was crouched down while waving a Rook chess piece.

"A chess piece?" Pyrrha questioned

Jaune stood "yep. There's another Rook piece over there next to that Knight piece" he pointed to said pieces that were close to Weiss. "It might be a stretch but I think whichever pair has the same pieces will be on the same team" he concluded after giving Pyrrha the white Rook.

Weiss held the knight and the other Rook piece to weigh the pros and cons. Let's see, she's already paired up with a child but she seems competent in a fight. She's skeptical of Jaune but he has the amazing Pyrrha Nikos as a partner. With that in mind she tossed the Knight piece away.

Ruby was the most conflicted as she stared at the Knight piece she caught. On one hand she would be partnered with Jaune and Pyrrha, her two _official_ friends in school but then again she would be separated from her sister. Maybe Weiss can help

Ruby turned to Weiss and held up the Knight piece "Weiss should I"

"No need" the heiress answered immediately while waving the White Rook piece in her hand.

"Ruby!" she heard from behind.

Ruby turned to see Yang running towards her with open arms "Yang" the young reaper shouted running towards the blonde, dropping the chess piece

"Ruby"

"Yang"

"Nora!" popped up between them before they could hug

"Whoa!" both siblings shouted while skidding to a stop.

Yang was startled, she just appeared out of nowhere as if she had the same semblance as Ruby

*Blink*

And she's gone, both siblings looked around for the mysterious girl until they heard a long drawn out "aw" and turned around to find the girl inside the ruins stooping down in disappointment at the Knight pieces she found.

The stoic boy went to his friend's side and she held up the Knight piece.

"I wanted to be queen of the castle" she said sadly, almost looking to be on the verge of tears.

Ren calmly took the piece and patted her on the back "it's alright Nora" he said calmly.

"But Reeeen" she whined

Ren quickly racked his brain for something to calm his friend down. Nora being sad wasn't something he enjoyed having been used to her loud rambunctious behavior.

"Um, at least you have a pony now" he finished with a shrug

At his words Nora's mood did a complete 180 and everyone close watched in amusement as she started zipping around the boy while talking incessantly. Jaune shook his head slowly as he saw Yang gave Ruby a bone crushing hug with the red hooded girl desperately trying to free herself.

In the distance his eye caught sight of cool beauty watching Yang with the faintest of smiles gracing her lips. Their eyes met and Jaune smiled sheepishly with a small wave while she stared at him intently for a moment before averting her eyes with a stoic expression.

"Looks like Ren already has someone in common" Jaune mumbled while taking out his green book.

Weiss stomped over to her partner and yanked her from under Yang ignoring the blonde's complaints, Ruby gave her an awkward thanks but she waved it off.

"Thank me later, we have an initiation to finish" she said before heading for the bridge.

"I guess we should go as well then" Pyrrha enquired to her partner with a smile, which faltered when she saw his face buried in his book "Jaune."

His eyes looked to her "hmm? Oh yeah we should probably go before anymore Grimm come through the forest" he said as he walked by.

By that time everyone had already followed the heiress' lead with Yang talking with Ruby, Blake trailing behind, Ren and Nora were walking to side of Jaune and Pyrrha. From his vision's peripherals he could see Pyrrha glance at him every now and then. He didn't need to be a ninja to know that she was worried about him, heck he'd already mused that with the 'no Aura' secret out she no doubt sees him as fragile now despite everything he's done before.

Another thing came to mind, he promised to explain to them about how he protects himself, that's going to be a pain. Honestly Jaune never had to deal with much social interaction out in the badlands, yeah sure he knows his way around a conversation and could tell a very convincing lie and sell it but he'd be with her for four years.

Add to the fact that he's a **Ninjutsu** specialist at heart which means that if he did lie and they go on a life threaten mission down the line.. his thoughts trailed off.

' _I'm going to need a second opinion on this.'_ He thought with a mental groan.

 _To Be Continued_


	6. Arc One Epilogue Part 1

**Chapter 6: Arc One Epilogue Part 1**

* * *

As Jaune expected, his hypothesis on the Chess pieces determining which persons will be on a team was right on the mark. He stood with his partner Pyrrha, his friend Ruby and Weiss, they all had their hands behind their back listening to Professor Ozpin announce the team names

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, from this day forward you will be known as Team WARP led by, Jaune Arc."

The end of Ozpin's announcement was accompanied by cheers, Pyrrha grinned and playfully punched him on the shoulder causing him to stumble but not fall.

"Congratulations Jaune" Ruby cheered as they all got off the stage.

Weiss didn't have anything to say, merely folded her arms and turned her nose up at him when he made eye contact with her.

' _I can tell she's going to be the most supportive'_ he thought sarcastically.

"And finally" Ozpin's voice made them turn to the stage "Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. You have all collected the black knight pieces, from this day forward you shall be known as Team BYRN (Burn), lead by, Lie Ren."

At this Nora squealed and gave Ren an immediate hug followed by Yang patting him on the back while Blake stood there without changing her expression. Jaune was happy that Ren became a leader but couldn't help but pity him at the same time. From what he remembered and has seen, Ren is the strong silent type and that clashes with being a leader.

' _On the plus side he's the only boy on a team with beautiful/cute girls'_ Jaune mused internally _'come to think of it'_ he looked at his teammates, Pyrrha and Weiss were conversing while Ruby was talking to Yang who just came off stage _'so am I.'_ he thought awkwardly.

Honestly he didn't know if him being the only guy on the team is a good thing, the average man would think him and Ren were the luckiest guys on campus. He and Ren weren't average men although he had to admit they (the girls) were pleasant to look at. At that his eyes met Blake and she immediately averted hers.

Okay seriously what is her problem? Jaune couldn't figure it out, it's not like they'd ever met before, he would remember someone like her and he never forgets a face. Anyway, he needed to talk to Ren as soon as possible with how the thing with his team is going to work. He took out his scroll.

"First, let's see where we're going to be sleeping" he mumbled.

 **~Later~**

As Jaune stood at the doorway of his team's dorm room he couldn't help but feel that the dorm assignments were made by design. Ren may have had a similar thought as he stood beside Jaune, his doorway just across from Jaune's. The rest of their team have already went ahead to claim their beds both leaders decide to hang back and discuss something.

"Looks like you drew the short straw Ren" Jaune mused.

Ren raised an eyebrow "what do you mean?"

Just then Nora and Yang's voices could be heard arguing about something. Jaune gestured to his room with a smirk and Ren immediately sighed. Jaune could only sympathize, he only met Yang for a brief moment and could already tell she'd be a handful, and Nora, man may Monty have mercy on Ren's soul with her.

"Hey at least Blake looks like she has a cool head on her shoulder" he reassured.

He seemed to calm down at this but his expression became serious "are you going to tell your teammates?"

Jaune's expression became solemn "I'm not sure" he began as Ren gave him a quizzical look. "I mean I know it would be better for the team to know since we're stuck with each other and all but.." he trailed off

"You still don't trust them" his friend stated

After a while Jaune spoke "you could say that, although I kinda figured I can trust Pyrrha and Ruby kept her mouth shut so far" he stopped and mentally slapped himself

"What do you mean 'she kept her mouth shut'?" Ren questioned

Jaune laughed nervously and Ren's eyes widened "she knows?"

"Well" Jaune tried to fish for an excuse but ultimately sighed in defeat "yeah."

"How did she even.."

"I may have mentioned it that one time we met on the first day" he admitted shamefully

Ren shook his head slowly and Jaune shot him a glare "hey, you look into those big silver eyes and tell me you can resist them!" he stated sharply.

Ren held his hand up "I'm not judging your decision Jaune" he assured "what about your last teammate?"

It was Jaune's turn to do a tired sigh "ah, the Ice Queen. I definitely trust her the least right now" he turned to Ren "she has attitude problems she needs to overcome." He finished

"Well you said they already know you don't have Aura. How are you going to explain that?"

"Hmm, I think I'll just leave them in the dark" he looked to Ren "don't get me wrong, I will tell them _eventually_ but for now, we need to be a proper team first" he finished.

"It seems you have your work cut out for you"

"You have no idea. I don't suppose **you** have this particular problem with your team as well?" Jaune asked eyeing the stoic man.

Ren actually smirked a little "sorry Jaune but since I have Aura I won't have any problems blending in" he finished

"Lucky bastard" he mumbled but then a thought came to him, it was something he was curious about but didn't get the chance to ask but since they were alone why not.

"So Nora's a Valkyrie" he said in a cautious tone.

Ren became somber "yes"

"I wasn't aware that there were any left after…" he trailed off.

"My clan took her in; she has Aura so there wasn't a need to expose her into the Shinobi world"

Jaune nodded in understanding and sought to relieve the tension in the atmosphere "whelp" he suddenly spoke "I better go inside now, you know, walk the last mile" he joked.

"For what it's worth I wish you luck" Ren offered

"Yeah, yeah" he waved him off but paused just short of the door knob "hey Ren" he turned to look at him "why'd you dye your hair pink?"

Ren glanced at the pink lock of his otherwise black hair then at Jaune. They stared at each other for a few more seconds.

"…Nora?"

"Nora"

"'nuff said"

Jaune went inside and was greeted by the sight of three girls staring at him expectantly.

"So" he began "I guess this is my bed then?" he pointed to the empty bed.

Without waiting for a reply he went over to the bed and effortlessly pulled it to the farthest corner of the room away from them.

"Jaune" Pyrrha asked approaching him.

"Yes" he asked as if he had no idea what she wanted

"Perhaps you can explain to us about your situation" she said politely

"Precisely" Weiss said storming over next to Pyrrha "how is it that you don't have any Aura yet you were accepted into Beacon?" she crossed her arms.

Ruby came up next to Weiss, mimicking her partner however her expression was one of mirth. Jaune eyed their youngest member

"Do I have a choice?" he asked with mock hopefulness.

"Nope" she answered popping the 'P'

He sighed and sat down on his bed. Jaune didn't particularly have a problem with telling them his circumstances for being there but what he didn't want was for them to make a big deal out of it. Oh what the hell, what kind of heartless people _wouldn't_ make a big deal out of it?

"Okay so first of all, I would just like to say, it wasn't my idea to come to Beacon" he paused "in fact I didn't even _want_ to come to Beacon in the first place" his brow furrowed at this. No matter what he would tell himself he'd think that he would find no benefit for himself in coming to a Hunter academy.

The girls were a little taken aback by this revelation, how could someone admit they didn't want to come to the most prestigious Hunter Academy in Remnant.

Weiss scowled "then why _are_ you here Arc" she was getting aggravated

Jaune's expression became solemn as he seemed to stare off in the distance "it was the final wish of my _late_ grandfather" he looked at Weiss and continued "a great man who I have the utmost respect for" he paused as Weiss' expression softened "he thought me everything I know, I think the least I could do is bear through four years of attending a school for hunters" he concluded with a frown.

Weiss narrowed her eyes "you make it sound as if coming here is a waste of time" she said indignantly.

' _It is, for me at least'_ he thought but then sighed Jaune could see that even Ruby and Pyrrha looked a little offended which just wouldn't do. He may not want to be there but he is, so if they are going to be a team there's no reason to make them hate him.

With that in mind he waved off Weiss' accusations lazily "no, no that's not what I meant" he stood up and looked over each of them "I'm not implying that coming to Beacon is a waste of time or anything, it's just that" he trailed off scratched the back of his head while looking away, the next bit is a little _controversial_.

"What is it Jaune?" the voice of his partner asked

He sighed and fixed them with a serious expression "I've been travelling around Remnant with my grandfather since I was eight years old" he began and the tone of his voice surprised them, even Weiss was taken aback, she would never figure he could make a voice like that.

Jaune continued "I've trained in combat against Grimm, Human and Faunus alike, heck I've even completed literally _hundreds_ of official Hunter missions of every variety and class. I gained extensive knowledge on just about everything ranging from relevant history to Aura and medicine. I've survived in the deepest of heavily Grimm infested areas in the Badlands sometimes with nothing but a single kunai" he dangled out said kunai by his finger before twirling it.

"So, yes Weiss"

The heiress looked at him "excuse me?"

"I thought about it and yes, I can honestly say that attending Beacon _is_ a waste of my time" he elaborated "but be honest Weiss, if after learning everything there is to learn about being a hunter while growing up, apply said knowledge on actual missions to have a 100% success rate only to be forced into attending a school for training hunters so that you would have to re-learn everything you basically already know all to receive a license telling you that you're ready to do what you've been doing for years" he paused "wouldn't you consider it a waste of your time?"

"Of Course" she replied immediately after imagining herself in that particular situation. She would feel insulted, working so hard for so long only to be reduced to, to….oh.

"Now you know how I feel" he concluded once he saw the realization on her face "you guys have any _more_ questions?" Please don't

Ruby raised her hand sheepishly. ' _Dammit._ '

"Sooo, you've gone on hunter missions before?" she asked curiously.

"Um, yes?" he replied warily, not sure where she was going with this.

"Wow~" She said in awe before she beamed at him

' _Here we go again'_

And so Ruby began speaking at twenty miles an hour "that's so cool. What kind of missions did you go on? Did you do them alone? How many? Does it have to do with you being a umph!?"

Jaune covered Ruby's mouth much to Pyrrha's confusion, the champion was looking at him questioningly. Weiss on the other hand already ignored her partner halfway in her tirade and was by her bed and so was oblivious to what was happening, she needed time to ponder the new information of her supposed team leader.

Jaune turned to Pyrrha and slowly removed his hand from Ruby's mouth, the younger girl having realized what she almost said started laughing nervously "heh, heh, sorry"

Jaune on the other hand calmly answered "it's fine Ruby and to answer your question in order: I went on every variety, some of them I did alone but most was with my grandpa, around 237 and yes" he looked at Ruby.

Ruby mouthed "two hundred?"

"Grandpa takes me on _every_ mission he went on the moment I could throw a shuriken" he explained.

' _Which was about two months after I left home with him'_ he thought idly.

Throughout the entire conversation Pyrrha had remained quiet, choosing the time to observe her new partner. The Spartan knew that he wasn't telling them everything and his proclamation only served to create more questions. Questions which she will not impose upon him, as much as it irked her.

As disheartening as it is to know that Jaune didn't willingly want to attend Beacon, the fact that he told them all this means that he will at least try to be a good teammate and leader. Although another problem presents itself and this worries her and it is, of course, his earlier claims. How could someone as young as he possibly go on missions that require trained Huntsmen and Huntresses?

Sure his skills in both combat and survival are impeccable but it takes more than that to complete missions. Even she wouldn't be able to complete most missions, at least not yet anyway. Add to the fact that he doesn't have any Aura and by extension a Semblance not to mention he uses, for lack of a better term, simple weaponry.

"I have to go run an errand" Jaune commented offhandedly cutting her musings short.

This snapped Pyrrha out of her thoughts "where are you going?"

"I have to get my stuff" he explained

This had her attention and she smiled "perhaps I can help you?"

She didn't necessarily care if he was keeping a secret or two, honestly everyone has secrets even she does. Although she would be lying if she didn't want to know more about him as a person and what better way to do that than to spend time with him, with no ulterior motives.

" _And_ I have to see professor Ozpin" he added much to her disappointment. "Don't worry about helping me Pyrrha, I don't have that much stuff in the first place" he smiled at her.

Pyrrha beamed at him a truly sincere smile that both Weiss and Jaune saw but only the heiress understood the implications as her mouth was agape in shock. Ruby missed this as she exited the room with the ninja to visit her sister so they could receive their luggage.

As the door closed Pyrrha did an uncharacteristic grunt of frustration at having missed an opportunity to spend time alone with her partner. Instead of dwelling on it though she decided to finish organizing her wardrobe into the closet.

Weiss saw the entire scene and by extension Pyrrha's reaction to the scraggly blonde, her expression was a mix of shock and mortification, the only thought she had was

' _Are you_ _ **kidding**_ _me!'_

* * *

Jaune made his way towards Ozpin's office, on the outside he was the perfect picture of laid back, on the inside his brain was running a marathon. He looked at the letter he was to deliver to Ozpin after all if his first letter was for him to enroll in Beacon then _of course_ the 'headmaster' is Ozpin. That was a little unsettling, he hoped that his grandfather would not screw him over like he did with the first letter.

Yes! Jaune was still angry at being told to come to a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses. Excluding all the training he did prior and the knowledge he gained already but in all honesty if he had spoken to him about it beforehand then he might not have so much of a problem. Didn't he know that his grandson had plans of his own, yeah he was basically a soldier ready for orders but this was just abuse of authority.

And the worst part

He couldn't give the old man a piece of his mind! *Cue picture of Jonas Arc with a mischievous smile, sporting a thumbs up saying "have fun"*

*Ding* the elevator door opened and Jaune walked to the door in the centre of the hallway. He stood before it and knocked

"Enter" a voice he immediately recognized as Ozpin spoke.

Jaune did as instructed, entering the office and even though his expression didn't show he was a little put off by the design of the office. It was reminiscent of the inside of a clock tower with intricately placed gears spinning across the green painted place. He gained all of this while lazily glancing around the office, both hands in his pockets, his eye half laden.

His gaze turned to the pair before him: Ozpin was calmly watching his every movement with a stoic expression although Jaune could tell at first glance that there is more to him than that. He had the feel of someone who has great insight, not to mention experience oh yes, Jaune knew very much about Theodore Ozpin the greatest Dust mage on Remnant but that is for another time.

The platinum blonde standing beside him looked to be trying to make something of her fellow blonde. Jaune imagines that she is having a particularly hard time trying to do that if the slight deepening of her frown was anything to go by.

"Ah, Mr. Arc" Ozpin began "what brings you to my office" he questioned whilst going through a mountain of paperwork.

Jaune looked over the amount of paper on the desk before wordlessly taking one hand out of his pocket and outstretching it to Ozpin. Ozpin's eyes glanced up to see a letter with the Arc seal dangling over him. Ozpin glanced curiously at Jaune, even Glynda was a little confused by his action or maybe it would be more like outraged.

Here was a first year student, coming into the headmaster's office, did not greet him or her and did not state his purpose. As someone who adhered to formalities she was irritated with the boy's lack of. She was about to reprimand him for that but he spoke

"I came to deliver this letter to you" Jaune saw Ozpin glance at him, then the letter before taking it and as he peruse the item Jaune added "it is from my late grandfather" he paused as Ozpin once again glanced at him "Jonas Arc." He concluded.

For a split second Jaune saw Ozpin's eyes widened slightly before they became sharper than before. While Glynda missed this little action she knew that something was wrong the moment he said that name. As a professor Glynda had information on all the famous families including the Arcs, who were especially famous for producing strong and Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Jaune's father and older sisters were a testament to this, however as far as status goes, she knew that Jonas Arc was no Huntsman. He was oddly one of the few Arcs who did not become a one; instead it is said that he became a hermit. Likewise with Jaune, unlike his sisters who were already famous or up and coming Huntresses, she wasn't even sure the boy went to a combat school before.

"Glynda, leave us for a moment please" the sound of Ozpin's request kicked the stern woman from her thoughts.

"Sir?" she questioned quite surprised by what she asked.

Glynda had not realized Ozpin opened the letter when she was thinking; he had a pensive look as he glanced over the words "I need to speak with Mr. Arc alone" he concluded.

Glynda hesitated before complying "as you wish sir" with that she left, the clinking of heels followed by the closing of the door was all that was heard.

Ozpin sighed as he stood "my condolences Mr. Arc" he spoke.

Jaune now became suspicious, mostly about what was in that letter.

Ozpin's eyes sharpened "he was a very skilled Shinobi"

Jaune didn't visibly react to that and Ozpin was a little impressed by this, of course the headmaster know those trained in the ninja art valued anonymity above all else, they are used to people not knowing who they are and if one were to find out about them it would be on their terms. For someone so young to maintain his composure, it is a true testament to his skills as a Shinobi.

"You don't seem surprised" Ozpin commented.

Jaune simply shrugged "why should I be" he began "the moment you read that letter you sent professor Goodwitch outside. That could only mean that what you have to say to me is a secret that can only remain between you and me."

Ozpin nodded sagely "I suppose you are wondering why he would send you here?" Ozpin questioned. Jaune nodded getting very invested in this conversation though he tried not to show his anticipation

"Alright let me explain, you see…"

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: You mad? Sorry I just couldn't resist, so next chapter we find out the true reason why Jaune was sent to Beacon. As the name suggest this is part one of a two part epilogue for the first arc. hope ya'll love it cause if you do fav and follow and leave a review.**


	7. Arc One Epilogue Part 2

**Author's Notes: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, oh man the reviews I got for that cliffhanger last week were** _ **hi**_ **larious. I've never trolled anyone before in writing and even with the cliffhanger I didn't think you'd be** _ **that**_ **pissed. So as an appeasement I won't do that again even though your reactions were funny, to me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** **Arc One Epilogue Part 2**

"Alright, let me explain" Ozpin began "your grandfather and I have been maintaining contact with each other for a number of years. During those few times, he has mentioned you and some of your progress."

Jaune raised his visible eyebrow but did not comment, instead letting the man continue "after your promotion to Jonin I sent a request to Jonas in having you complete a series of missions under a four year contract" he concluded.

This time Jaune was surprised, so surprised that he took his hands out of his pockets and folded them with a pensive expression. So Ozpin was the reason why he was here, now Jaune felt like an idiot for ever doubting his grandfather, a _really_ big idiot. Still why didn't he just tell him and a four year contract?

' _Why would he want a contracted Shinobi and why me?'_ Jaune thought, as far as he knew the four kingdoms didn't need ninjas as much as areas outside their protection did.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug of steaming coffee before replying "I suppose you are wondering why I would require a ninja such as yourself?"

Jaune's sharp gaze met Ozpin's _'he's good'_ Jaune thought but nodded "actually yeah, I thought with all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vale you wouldn't need a Shinobi, maybe for a less than legal single mission but why would you want a four year contract?"

Yes, believe it or not there are missions such as this, where a ninja would be required to spend time in a single place for a number of years but that would be under extenuating circumstances. Circumstances include the state of the area, whether it is at war and they need to quell it, or even help a successful coup d'état.

You'd be surprised how much information the council bottlenecks about the affairs of the settlements or outside the kingdom in general.

Ozpin chuckled "well that would be the case if it were a decade ago, however the situation with the Grimm is becoming extensive and as such hunters are more often than not are outside Vale, leaving mostly students."

Jaune nodded, that actually makes sense, before his grandfather's demise years before, they didn't go on many missions together anymore. They would split up to do several separate missions and agree to a rendezvous point and those missions _always_ involve the Grimm. That was something Jaune had been worried about, the increase activity of the Grimm but alas that was a thought he would have to suppress for the time being.

"Does this have to do with the increased crime rate" Jaune began to question "more specifically a certain hat wearing criminal and his recent Dust robberies?"

Ozpin went to peer out the window behind his chair with back turned "that is one of the reasons, yes" he replied.

So he wants him to take out a criminal who's been causing trouble then. He couldn't really blame him though, from what he's seen of Roman Torchwick, the man was a smug narcissist at first glance. Even his mug shot had him smiling like the arrogant ass he probably is but then again he has a reason to be arrogant, most criminals wouldn't have gotten away with so much crime in the first place.

His robberies are another cause for concern, stealing that much Dust isn't just alarming but is a troubling. Ramifications on the civilian and hunter populace aside, that much Dust can be turned into serious fire power. What would a thief be doing with that much Dust? Unless

"He's stealing Dust and supplying it to someone" Jaune stated but paused to cup his chin "or more likely to an organization and judging by the volume of Dust stolen and the frequency of robberies he must be working under direct orders from someone" he concluded.

A small smile graced Ozpin's lips, this boy was very perceptive. Most would believe because Roman is a thief, the string of robberies weren't so surprising. Actually some would feel the criminal to be supplying Dust to someone but very few would think the criminal himself would be under orders. You couldn't blame them though, Roman didn't look the type to _take_ orders.

"Very perceptive Mr. Arc" Ozpin faced him "and you are right, my sources have confirmed that Roman may be working in conjunction with the White Fang"

"What?" Jaune said not even bothered that he broke his façade but this was legitimate for "since when does the White Fang work with humans?" he asked.

Someone like Roman Torchwick would be the very definition of why Faunus hated humans in the first place.

"That would be what I would like for you to find out" Ozpin replied "I believe that there is more to this than my sources have discovered."

Jaune didn't even need to think it over to accept _that_ mission however "that still wouldn't explain why you need me for four years professor" Jaune stated bluntly.

By this time Ozpin had already been seated and was sipping his coffee "I'm afraid that is a precaution I took because of my paranoia"

Jaune blinked "paranoia?"

"Yes, you see despite my precaution in maintaining peaceful times in Vale, I can sense that they are drawing to a close, abruptly I might add, it would serve me well to have someone I can trust."

Jaune supposed that would make sense, which would mean Jaune is contracted to prevent a war and Monty knows how long _that_ would take if he is the only one in on this plan.

"I guess having me enroll in your school would be the perfect cover huh?" he stated idly.

"Yes and no" was the reply.

"Huh?"

"Yes, you could say that it is rather convenient to be enrolled at Beacon for the duration of your contract" he began "but no, it is not simply a 'cover' Mr. Arc, your grandfather and I expect by the end of your four year tenor you will graduate as a licensed Huntsman."

Jaune narrowed his eye "with all due respect professor, I don't _need_ a license to be a Shinobi and I'm sure I don't want to be a Huntsman. I will attend classes, and do tests to keep up the façade of a student but I will drop out the moment the contract is over with."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow in amusement "then I take it you accept this mission?"

Jaune wasn't afraid to admit that spending so long outside the kingdoms aside from a mission or two has left him a little out of touch with society and this may help him in more ways than one.

"Yes, I accept professor Ozpin" he nodded in affirmation.

"Then let us talk terms and agreement" Ozpin replied.

* * *

Yang and Nora found themselves completely enraptured as Ruby regales them in the tale of how they made it through the Emerald forest. Or more specifically of how awesome her new leader is and Yang has to admit between, the Alpha Beowolf and giant Deathstalker she has come to the same conclusion as her younger sibling.

"That, was, awesome" Yang admitted.

"I know right!" Nora shouted

Ruby folded her arms in triumph "I bet you wish he was on _your_ team huh?"

Yang caught on and shrugged "yeah, but my team ain't nothing to scoff at either. _Even though half of them couldn't hold a conversation to save their lives_ " she said louder.

Ren and Blake who were on their respective beds, meditating and reading respectively, didn't even react at the obvious jab at their quiet nature. Seeing no reaction Yang turned away from them and back to Ruby, who was being told what _they_ went through with the giant Nevermore, although there were some exaggerations. Yang found it amusing to see her sister's star struck reaction.

Despite her gaze on the book before her, Blake had been listening to the entire conversation and somehow a feeling a dread came over her. The first time she saw him, he somehow seemed familiar to her but just chalked it up to coincidence. That thought was shattered just moments ago by Ruby's story.

The way how she described his fighting and weapons had made it clear, she forced back an involuntary shudder as memories began to resurface. If Jaune was really _him_ then it could be very bad and more than just her secret being revealed would be at stake.

' _No, I left that life behind to start over'_ she gulped silently _'I just hope I can convince him'_ She mentally added.

Blake sighed and stood up, all that thinking soured her mood and the noise everyone else made did not help. She took a quick glance at her leader who was meditating despite the noise,

' _How does he do it?'_ She wondered.

Usually she would be able to ignore everything around her by focusing on the words in her book but Ren seemed to be able to completely block out noise at will. She turned to Nora; then again she felt that would be a necessary skill in his case, one in which she had to learn if she was going to survive four years with the grenadier.

Blake opened the door to leave but was halted by the sound of her partner's voice "where are you going Blakey?"

Blake's bow twitched in mild annoyance at the nickname but replied monotonously "I need some air."

The door closed as Blake closed her eyes and exhaled "something wrong" a voice caused her to jolt.

Blake whipped her head around to find Jaune looking at her with a concerned expression or at least it looked to be. How did she not notice him before when he was five feet away from her, were her senses dulled by her previous thoughts or was he that skilled? Honestly she didn't know but she prayed that it was the former.

"No, I'm fine" she answered with her usual tone and expression but on the inside her thoughts were a mess.

Jaune seemed to pause, as if studying her and when his gaze landed on her bow, Blake could feel a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face. In the end though the blonde simply shrugged

"Alright, if you say so" he said having taken her word for it.

Blake took that chance to walk away, when she gained enough distance she let out a breath she hadn't realized she held. Behind her Jaune watched her walk off and by the time she rounded the corner his gaze became sharper and a frown marred his face

' _I hope she won't be a problem, I'd rather Yang stick with the partner she started out with'_ he thought darkly.

Just to be clear Jaune had no qualms with killing someone, he may not like it but he can grin and bear it. It is fairly obvious to him now that he got a good look at her that Blake was indeed a Faunus in disguise (if you could call it a disguise). His grandfather thought him how to spot a Faunus because not all of them have visible animal appendages for example the Puma Faunus whose animal trait would be their claws and eyes which could be retracted or covered with contact lenses. Aside from that they could pass for a human.

With Blake her amber eyes with partial slits were the same color of most feline Faunus he's come across. A while ago her bow twitched subtly when he caught her off guard, guess that doesn't happen often. What has Jaune worried is how she carried herself, like how she doesn't try to bring attention to herself.

She's quiet even her foot steps were light, careful and showed experience with sneaking around. In all aspects he is like this but it's uncanny how ninja-like she is but of course she wasn't a Shinobi which means she must have been trained in espionage by an organization.

There is only one organization which trains Faunus in espionage and the fact that she wants to pass off as a human makes him highly suspicious. Yet that thought was for another time because _now_ he needed to unpack. Luckily he unsealed his duffel that held several neatly folded clothes, not like he had many personal items beyond weapons anyhow.

He went to open the door but his hand stopped on the doorknob "hmm" his eye narrowed and he looked at the door before knocking. There were footsteps before the door was opened revealing Weiss.

"You" she a little confused. Why on Remnant did he knock on his own dormroom?

Said boy waved slightly "hey there Ice Queen" he replied.

Right then Weiss scowled her pretty little face "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" she loudly demanded.

"Not with that attitude I will" he commented before forcing his way in.

"Why you-"

"You know" Jaune interrupted her yelling causing her to actually pause because the tone he used was surprisingly sharp "instead of yelling at me and demanding I not call you Ice Queen how about asking nicely?" he suggested whilst unloading his duffel.

"Excuse me!?" she said indignantly. "Who are **you** to demand something of me Arc" she said coldly.

Jaune sighed, this was getting ridiculous, despite his easy going attitude Jaune was thought to be as efficient as possible when it came to his missions and _this_ whole team thing was a part of it, so he'll have to make them efficient as well. As such he plans to make sure that whatever personal problems his team has will be gone so they will be able to work as efficiently as possible. He'll start with the obvious problem, the 'spoiled rich girl.'

Or is she? Yes she looks and acts like any heiress from an insanely wealthy family would. Weiss is by all account very beautiful, her skin is pale and her hair is as white as snow (which is a given considering her name). Her pale blue eyes were cold and a scar he could only assume where she got it just makes her seem endearing.

Yes if Blake is cool beauty then Weiss would be cold beauty. Jaune would admit that at first glance he would have developed a crush on her and had he been a regular teenager would even try to flirt. Fortunately he wasn't, _that ice glare_.

Her attitude reflected this facet, because of her family name; she is extremely dismissive of others who are not up to her standards. Jaune knew of the Schnees penchant for perfection or more specifically Weiss' father's perfectionism and it is reflected in his daughter. From the way how she is dressed to even her combat style which is quite graceful he would admit. She is like a Schnee yet there is something else at work with Weiss namely that one sign of imperfection on her person.

"Why is your hair like that?" he asked curiously.

She narrowed her eyes before glancing at her ponytail for a split second, her cold gaze landed on Jaune who was looking at said appendage.

"What are you on about?"

He shrugged "well you seem like the type of girl who likes everything to be perfect so I was wondering why your ponytail is off center" he answered truthfully "no matter how I look at it your hair clashes with the entire symmetry of your appearance" he finished while gesturing to her.

Weiss blinked, obviously caught off guard by his keen observational skills. No one has ever noticed something as fleeting as her hair and for a moment she was rendered speechless. But _only_ for a moment

"What does my hair have to do with anything?" she asked partly frustrated but genuinely curious.

"I've met your father before" he began and he noticed how she subtly cringed at the mention of the head of the SDC "somehow he doesn't strike me as someone who would allow his daughter to style her hair like tha-"

"My father does not control me!" Weiss all but shouted, interrupting him. Her delicate looking hands clenched into shaking fists and her teeth were barred in fury.

Jaune blinked _'it makes sense now'_ he thought now dropping what he was doing to give the fuming heiress his full attention.

He figured it out, not just the reason why her ponytail was off center but also why she is attending Beacon in the first place.

Rebellion.

Weiss is rebelling against her father. Her father comes off as a man who likes to be in control and wouldn't have any qualms with using anything to get what he wants. Somewhere along the line Weiss got fed up with his crap and realized that she would never be her own person if she stayed under his thumb.

It must have started with the hair which she chose to keep even now and escalated to the point where she 'ran away' from him to attend Beacon. She wants to be her own person and being a Huntress is the only way she would ever feel independent enough and fully out of his grasp. Jaune couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.

Yet at the same time he was irritated, not really with her but what she must've gone through to have an attitude like that towards other people. Even though she wants to be a Huntress, she was raised like an aristocrat which is a problem if she is to work in the hard role of being a Huntress. It was sad but in order for this team to be efficient he would need to knock her off her 'high horse' and bring her back to Remnant.

Jaune mentally dredged up every single conversation he'd ever had with his grandfather about psychological warfare.

Jaune nodded "I get it" he said suddenly "I can only assume what you had to go through with someone like your father as a parental figure" he started walking towards her slowly.

"You felt like you weren't in control of your life and so you decided to take the reins from him am I right?" he already knew but thought to humor her anyway.

Needless to say Weiss was too flabbergasted by the sight before her. This dunce did not seem like the same person a while ago, she wasn't staring at some nonchalant idiot, she was looking at some _one_ else.

"I can respect your decision in attending Beacon to becoming a Huntress" he continued walking and Weiss found her form faltering under his gaze "but" he halted a feet before her.

"If you really want to be your own person then you need to forget whatever it is that your father thought you about socializing with people."

"W-what are you" Weiss sputtered somehow under his heavy gaze she was losing her composure.

"I'm talking about the way how you treat others especially your teammates, it sucks" he scolded. Jaune was using the same tone his grandfather would use when teaching him a lesson or reprimanding him, it was gentle yet authoritive and he was silently relishing the effect it had on Weiss, it was very clear no one had ever spoken to her like this.

Jaune was being very careful, he didn't want to sound angry or it would set her off and he didn't want to be gentle or she would brush off his advice. No he needed to find a perfect cross between gentle and harsh to approach the heiress.

"I can understand why you would give random strangers the cold shoulder since after all you are famous and wealthy, but we: me, Ruby and Pyrrha" he gestured to said girl by the bathroom doorway who at some point came out of the bathroom but didn't dare say anything to disrupt her partner's speech.

"We're your teammates for the next four years and whether you like it or not it won't change" he paused and Weiss realized he was _towering_ over her with a sharp gaze that seem to peer into her soul, she swallowed.

"Like it or not if we're going to become a team then you'll have to change your attitude" he placed both hands on her shoulder "stop acting like what your father made you to be. Are you Weiss Schnee the 'perfect' daughter of the president of the Schnee Dust Company or are you Weiss Schnee Huntress in training!" he shouted.

Right before his eyes Jaune saw a cold fire blaze in those light blue eyes as she brushed aside his arms and in an unlady-like manner shouted "I AM WEISS SCHNEE HUNTRESS IN TRAINING!"

"Then ACT like it!" he said loudly before narrowing his eye leaning closer but she didn't back down "drop the pompous act around your teammates and friends because in the end _they_ are the one's who you'll be counting on when fighting the Grimm and trust me" he raised his forehead protector to show her his scarred left eye "the Grimm won't care about your status" he concealed it "I expect a lot from my second-in-command Weiss Schnee" he gave her the 'Arc grin,' an infectious smile so bright that one could swear his teeth sparkled.

At this Weiss' brain drew a blank and she could only stare at him, unmoving. With his speech done Jaune turned towards Pyrrha who had her eyes wide and mouth agape at what unfolded before her.

"Oh, Pyrrha you're done with the bathroom" Jaune asked like he hadn't just pointed at her. He took out some casual clothes.

Pyrrha now realized her position and removed herself from the doorway leading to the bathroom. Her gaze was fixed on Jaune as if looking at him for the first time, she in all the short time she's known him did _not_ expect him to, in one rousing speech: reprimand, complement, reassure and promote Weiss of all people.

A quick glance to said girl saw that she was still an unmoving statue. Pyrrha's gaze flickered back to Jaune who was..staring at her. Jaune scratched his cheek with red dusting of his cheeks.

"Um, I'll just go so you can put on your clothes" he awkwardly mumbled before briskly walking into the bathroom.

Pyrrha realized that she was only wearing a towel, her hair no longer in a ponytail but let down like a fiery waterfall. Her face turned red with embarrassment. Meanwhile Weiss was still reeling from Jaune's speech, why did it take so long? Well firstly no one outside of her own father has ever talked to her with such authority which made any rebuttal stuck in her throat.

Secondly no one had ever said the things he did, and seemed to show an understanding of her decisions and actions and respected her for it. Yes she has been complemented similarly before but that was because she was a Schnee, Jaune has made it abundantly clear that he didn't care what her family name was or her status.

He actually respected her as a person and it was because of this that he made her second-in-command, because he respected her capabilities as a Huntress in training. At least that is what she told herself after all, she was _very_ good. Then he smiled that…smile and.

Weiss' cheek flushed red and she actually cupped them with her hands as if to confirm them. The warmth of her usually cool skin notified her that she was _indeed_ flushing.

' _No Way'_ she mentally gasped but said nothing as she shambled towards her bed.

The shower was heard through the door and she glanced in that direction, in _his_ direction but turned away with a small smile to unintentionally glance at Pyrrha who looked to have been watching her little reaction for quite a while.

To her surprise and confusion champion's eyes flickered from the door to her before her eyes narrowed a bit. Weiss blinked not really sure what _that_ was supposed to mean while the redhead went about putting on her clothes. The heiress went about her business uneasily, Jaune's words going through her mind.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Oh the drama. So yeah, I think that Jaune would be the type to squash his teams problems from the start but don't expect Weiss to be OOC, heck no, she will take his words into consideration and think twice before acting. Consider this a sped up version of the episodes Badge and Burden without the drama.**

 **Now that this is the end of the first Arc, I want to make a confession. I had originally planned for this to be something of an harem story with Jaune. For now I have forgone that idea although I wanted to try my hand in writing one. I'll just have to do that in one of my other** _ **many**_ **stories stuck in what I'd like to call, development hell.**

 **With that out of the way I can properly level with you guys and gals about future chapters/Arcs. This story itself is kind of a slow burn despite me putting them out weekly, especially for those fanboys who are just here to see Jaune spit out Kakashi-style jutsus and I dare anyone to tell me that it wasn't one of the first thoughts you had when you first started reading this.**

 **Anyway I intend to go over a lot with this story so you might find entire Arcs dedicated** _ **mostly**_ **to character/story building. Especially since I'll be burning through the first season of Ruby in the second Arc and we all know that it doesn't get interesting until the fight at the docks. Don't worry I'll be straying from cannon soon enough.**

 **Depending on what I see in Volume three I may or may not include some of the plot points. I mean, ancient powers given by some lonely old guy to four (possibly) beautiful women effectively turning them into magical girls because they graced him with their presence? That sh*t came out of nowhere!**


	8. First Class Impressions

**Author's Notes: Hello my dear readers to the second Arc, kept you waiting didn't I? Just like I said I have to finish the Arc before releasing so it'll be weekly and hopefully every Wednesday. Arc two will cover the first season of RWBY. So here you go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: First Class Impressions**

First year students were currently in what must have been the most boring class ever, of all time. Grimm Studies with Professor Port was the first class of the first day for everyone attending Beacon. For Jaune, it was his first class, period. The Professor himself, who ironically was a 'portly' man was going on about stories of his 'conquests' during his youth which had all of the class either asleep or just not paying attention save for three persons.

Ren was taking down the Grimm illustrations on the board, barely registering what the man was saying. Pyrrha was also taking down the illustrations, and being the nice person she was, listened to the Professor, if only half heartedly. Blake's nose was in a book assigned to the class, she would rather read the information than listen to Port's story.

Weiss would've been focusing as well but somehow found herself distracted by her younger partner. Ruby being a fifteen year old girl did what anyone her age would do when faced with extreme boredom, she entertained herself. Weiss began grinding her teeth in frustration when Ruby showed her a poor drawing of the professor with smoke coming from his rear with the name 'Professor Fart' whilst snickering.

She almost snapped

Pyrrha turned her gaze to her partner and was surprised to see the blonde was completely engaged in what Port was saying, even jotting down notes.

' _This man is a genius'_ Jaune inwardly commented as Port went on to explain how he took down a Banshee, a large bat like Grimm whose sonic screams could rip a person eardrums apart, in one of the most unconventional yet effective ways possible. If only he knew back then, his mission would've gone a lot smoother and he wouldn't have been deaf through one ear for half the mission time.

To a normal teen it may seem like he was just an old man who loved telling _exaggerated_ stories of his youth to impress the younger generation. Jaune however was thought to see things beyond what was lying on the surface and what he saw in Professor Port was not some old man telling boring stories of his youth. No, what he saw was a veteran Huntsman, who has experience in dealing with many species of Grimm in very unique situations as such he has became Jaune's unknowing advisor.

Sure his grandfather taught him how to kill Grimm in different ways but he did so with the thought that Jaune was fighting as a Shinobi. Now that he was in a Hunter school, his combat options would be limited, it's not even about using Taijutsu. The simple fact is that Shinobi and Hunters fought differently or at least this generation of Hunters.

Jaune had used the week the school gave for new students to properly move in to observe how several students fought. Apparently this generation of Hunters are so enamored with the prospect of being one that it is reflected in their fighting styles. All flare no substance, just like most of their idealism of what being Hunters are. It's actually kind of sad because Jaune figured that at the rate they were going by the time they reach third year and get a taste of the _real_ Hunter experience most would give up.

Suffice to say this also extended to his own team, the most problematic was Ruby, yes she may be a genius who could wipe the floor with most in her year but technically she was suppose to start her second year at Signal before Ozpin scouted her. She still thinks of fighting as fun and killing Grimm as a game.

Jaune saw her fought before and despite her excellent skills with Crescent Rose she makes mistakes one would expect someone her age would although on a more subtle level. Jaune also noticed that Ruby was not using her weapon to its full potential but then again he was thinking from a Shinobi's perspective which boiled down to effectively silencing the target as opposed to beating it down.

Weiss' combat skills had to be the most pristine, at first glance one would think her to be a dancing ballerina when she fought instead of an up-and-coming Huntress. Jaune also gave her credit for her use of Semblance; she utilized it like it was second nature. Her knowledge of Dust is nothing to scoff at either and he's pretty sure she knows more about Dust than he does but that is to be expected of the Heiress to the largest Dust Company in all of Remnant. Again, as flawless as her fighting style _seem,_ Jaune couldn't help but see a kind of emptiness behind it.

Don't get him wrong she can fight, however no matter how good you are with Dust and your Semblance, you won't truly be a Hunter without the strength to back it up and on a purely physical level Weiss had to be the weakest member of Team WARP. Jaune could snap an Ursa Major's neck with his bare hands which he actually did at one point (with chakra but that's besides the point), Ruby wielded a weapon twice her size and half her own weight and Pyrrha did strength training to the point where Jaune was sure she was _almost_ as strong as he was.

He couldn't help but feel whoever trained her did so with the intention of making her fight mock battles instead of real ones. In fact if Weiss didn't have her Glyphs and Dust then she would be helpless against most if not all Grimm or humans who could take hits as much as they could dish out.

Pyrrha Nikos in Jaune's opinion should be what all aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses aim to be like. A shocked, disgruntled Weiss had to explain that she won the Mistral tournament four times in a row. Her title as the 'Champion' of Mistral is well deserved; Pyrrha Nikos is the perfect combatant, wielding Milo and Akuo like an extension of herself. Pyrrha told them in confidence that her Semblance was polarity which meant she could use it to ensure her victory against her opponents if she wound up in a tight spot, very shrewd indeed.

Jaune didn't find a flaw in her combat no it was perfect for _her,_ after all she was a warrior which was what they needed to be like to fight Grimm. All in all, Jaune didn't have a problem with his partner combat wise. Although that didn't mean she doesn't have her fair share of problems

"Jaune"

' _Speak of the devil'_ the boy commented internally.

The blonde glanced at his partner "what is it Pyr?"

Pyrrha, with a slightly nervous expression leaned back so Jaune was able to get a first hand glance at a fuming Weiss glaring daggers at an oblivious Ruby. Jaune could only groan when Ruby started picking her nose and right there Weiss looked a few seconds away from killing her partner.

"Now who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port questioned.

Weiss immediately shot her hand up "I do sir!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Well then let's find out" the professor replied eyeing the cage beside him "step forward and face your opponent" he gestured to the now rattling cage as a pair of glowing red eyes peered through the bars.

As Weiss left the room Jaune ran hand through his hair before resting his head on the table. His uncovered eye glanced at the psyched Ruby who was conversing with Yang and sighed

' _It's not her fault, she's just a kid'_ Jaune told himself.

As much as he would agree that Ruby's earlier actions were uncalled for, she is still 15 and the full weight of training to be an official hunter hasn't settled in yet. Jaune would need to ease her into the transition,

' _The sooner the better'_ he thought but then frowned _'no, I need to take it slow with her'_ he corrected himself.

Weiss came back into the room wearing her battle attire and Jaune had to resist the urge to groan. Seriously, she's wearing a dress for Dust sakes _and_ heels.

' _Calm down Jaune you're better than this'_ he reminded himself besides people would start spreading rumors if they found out he was obsessing with how his teammates dressed, his _female_ teammates.

Jaune was snapped from his reverie when Ruby started cheering; Pyrrha was about to cheer as well but Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder then shook his head causing her to stop. He then leaned forward.

"Ruby"

The red hooded girl stopped "yes?"

"Weiss appreciates your optimism but right now she needs to concentrate, you cheering her is" he paused to find the right word "distracting" he leaned in closer over Pyrrha and she did the same out of curiosity "plus people are staring" he whispered.

Ruby's eyes widened then started darting around the classroom and true to his words there were in fact several people staring at her, more out of amusement than anything else. A blush crept up and the girl pulled the hood over her head and shrunk in her seat. Pyrrha could only offer her socially inept teammate a sympathetic pat on the back.

Having diffused the situation Jaune turned to Weiss who had a grateful expression on her face. Jaune responded by smiling with his one eye closed while giving her a thumbs up.

"Good luck, Snow Angel"

Weiss resisted the urge to snap at him for calling her that infernal name, instead mumbling something about being an idiot before concentrating on the rumbling cage ahead, she wouldn't admit it but Jaune's words had a calming effect on her and the silence made her able to concentrate on the task at hand. She nodded to the Professor who nodded back and took out his axe weapon.

"Alright, let the match" he paused and used the axe to cut the lock off "begin!"

Immediately the Grimm charged with the intention of blindsiding her. Weiss however sidestepped the charged gracefully whilst making a sweeping slash that ended up being deflected by its bone-like armor forcing the girl to barrel roll due to the impact.

Weiss stopped in a crouched position to get a proper assessment of her opponent which was a Boarbatusk, one of the more common forms of Grimm near Vale. Weiss steadied her stance while leveling Myrtenaster at the creature all the while remembering everything she studied about this particular form of Grimm.

' _Okay Boarbatusk, Large tusks make for a direct approach suicide, armor scattered across its body make for slashes to be deflected but a well placed piercing attac-'_

She never finished her thoughts as the Boarbatusk charged yet again, Weiss retaliated by waving her free hand to produce two Glyphs, one under her and above the predicted path of the Boarbatusk. It happened in the blink of an eye: before the Boarbatusk could ram her, Weiss used the Glyph under her to shoot up to the one above and before the confused Boarbatusk could gather its bearings she shot at it with a piercing strike aimed at its back.

The result was Myrtenaster going through the armor-less part of the Grimm's back, severing its spine, in the process the Grimm died with a pained shriek. Weiss exhaled sharply before pulling Myrtenaster from the corpse.

"Bravo, Bravo" Port's voice boomed "It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true huntress-in-training" Weiss straightened her posture at his words "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and, stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

"That was awesome!" Weiss heard her partner shout amidst the shuffling of students leaving the room. She almost let out a groan.

After his talk and her subsequent promotion a week ago Weiss had honestly tried to be a little less critical and dismissive of people or at least her partner and her sister's team. That didn't mean she had changed, it just meant that she was more tolerant of some behavior. It helped greatly that Jaune and Pyrrha acted as mediators between the red and white partners whenever either of them did something to annoy (Weiss) or sadden/confuse (Ruby) the other.

Pyrrha approached her just as Jaune managed to reign in Ruby which has come to be something of a job to him, apparently Ruby is a bit of a hero worshipper and the fact that Jaune is a 'cool ninja' she listens to him. Weiss didn't care why she was just grateful he could make her stop at will without hurting her feelings.

"That was very impressive Weiss" Pyrrha praised with the same smile that landed her on the Pumpkin Pete's cereal box.

Weiss brushed her ponytail back with a haughty "hmph, of course it was" she said smugly, not noticing Jaune's eye roll.

"Yeah not bad princess" a feminine voice called out and this time Weiss did growl.

Jaune knew that there was only one person that could irritate Weiss like that.

"Hey sis" Ruby greeted.

Yang Xiao Long, Jaune made sure that he was separated from her by at least two bodies and so he subtly moved beside Ren and Blake. Jaune has nothing against his teammate's half-sister but for some reason throughout the entire week she has made it her mission to tease him when they're close. Whether it was by showing skin, innuendos or *shudder* puns.

Of course it wouldn't have bothered him so much but for some reason or another when she does get close he could sense a sort of displeasure coming from his partner, she must really hate her puns.

"It's not _princess_ Xiao Long" Weiss growled "it's **heiress** " she concluded with a scowl.

Yang waved it off, like she did with most of Weiss' angry rebuttals, honestly teasing her was just too easy. What she needed was a challenge and she spied a certain one-eyed blonde just moments ago. Yang turned in the direction where Jaune was 'hiding' it was something she noticed he started doing around her.

It was a shame that in his attempts to be unnoticed by her, he has managed to gain more of her attention with his antics. A grin crept onto her face as she approached where she saw him move, right beside Ren and conveniently out of most of their sights.

"Hey there one-eye" she gently moved Ren out of the way to…

Nothing?

There was no one there, how? She was sure she saw him move right beside-

"Uh guys we're going to be late for our next class" she heard a familiar voice call out.

Yang along with everyone turned to find Jaune standing at the door with one hand in his pocket while the other was holding a book, his posture was casual as he lazily scanned the contents of the page.

Yang stared wide eyed at him, not only her but everyone had a shocked expression, excluding Ren, Nora and Ruby. Ren may have been the only one present to see him move so his expression was stoic, Nora simply didn't care and as for Ruby, instead of being surprised she took this all in stride as the only person to know that he is a ninja.

Everyone thought the same thing _'how did he do that'_

It wasn't the first time he did it too, Yang narrowed her eyes slightly. Throughout her teasing Jaune has this knack for disappearing and reappearing without anyone noticing. He didn't do it all the time and she's pretty sure he's using his Semblance, whatever it is, but dammit he just uses it without any warning.

Pyrrha and Weiss agreed that Jaune is a mystery to them, even though he confessed what they thought to be his biggest secret. In a way it was unsettling that he could do things like that without the assistance of a Semblance, meaning that he just used his raw speed alone to seemingly teleport.

Scary indeed.

Blake was weary of the blonde as she always prided herself on being a master of stealth or thereabout. What with her being on dozens of life threatening missions that required her to be quiet lest she be caught, imprisoned, possibly tortured or die. Yet it would seem that Jaune surpassed her to a point where he was on his own level.

In more than one instance he'd managed to catch her completely unaware of his presence. He would sometimes pop out from out of nowhere almost giving her a heart attack, not that she would reveal it with her expression. The worst part of it was she didn't pick up anything from him, her heightened senses detected nothing.

When he walked he didn't make a sound like he was walking on air in some instances, she came to the conclusion that he made the sounds on purpose. She couldn't even smell him, as demeaning as it sounded for a cat Faunus and worst of all she couldn't find out his intentions; he always seemed so aloof that in trying to read him she yielded no results.

Blake was no fool; she knew that he was dangerous; all those traits lead her to believe that he was

' _Just like me'_ she thought with a frown.

He was an unknown, an enigma, wildcard, whatever you want to call it and the training engraved in the cat Faunus from her days in the White Fang wouldn't allow her to lower her guard until his purpose is known.

They all walked through the hallways of Beacon towards their next class. Blake's book covered her face but her gaze lingered on the blonde as he lead the way to their destination with Yang and Pyrrha covering his sides Weiss was being held up by Ruby, Nora and Ren were talking, at least one them was anyway and finally Blake was bringing up the rear when something caught her eye.

A crumpled piece of paper was dropped unnoticed by everyone else except her. Her eyes didn't deceive her, she was sure that _he_ was one who dropped it. Blake quickly and subtly scooped up the paper just as they entered class. Once inside she sat down as the lecture started and opened the crumpled paper to view its contents. Call her paranoid but he didn't seem like the type to just throw garbage on the floor.

She was right in assuming this for inside was a message. A message for her!

As she read the brief message her eyes slowly widened and her gaze snapped towards the one eyed leader. Jaune was looking at her but not like he would a classmate or even a stranger, no, his blue eyes were devoid of warmth, his expression was indifferent and he regarded her with silent hostility.

She recognized that gaze from her time in battle. It was the type of gaze you'd give your sworn enemy, Blake had seen it enough times to know. Through his gaze Blake could also see a silent threat, one that promised her pain if she tried anything to defy him and she wasn't dumb enough to dismiss the idea that he would.

As quickly as he glanced his gaze shifted back to the professor and Blake released a breath she didn't know she was holding. A bead of sweat slid down her face as she re-read the note and stored it in her pocket.

 _To Be Continued_

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 **Author's Notes: Duh, duh, duuuh.**

 **Hello everyone, Streggae here bringing you the second Arc of what I hope to be one of the greatest Jaune-centric Naruto/RWBY crossovers.**

 **In this Arc I'll be focusing on Jaune's integration into the Beacon fold, as you can see he's still an enigma even to his teammates and they knew his 'secret'. Then again you can't just** _ **switch off**_ **years of Shinobi training and be normal or at least not for that long, he's still 17 and while he's a Jonin he isn't a veteran Shinobi and is prone to mistakes and lapse in judgment (ie. When he reveals himself to Ruby, accidentally).**

 **Next week same time, I hope you enjoy this, leave a review and don't be afraid to be critical I'm talking to you Tsun.**


	9. The Rendezvous

**Author's Notes: I would like to thank you all for your continued support and your patience with this story. I recognize that despite my best efforts some grammar problems are apparently prevalent throughout the story so… I guess if anyone wants to be my Beta then you can go ahead and PM me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Rendezvous**

As an A- rank Shinobi Jaune did not leave things to chance when it came to the safety of innocent civilians and _especially_ those close to him. With that said, he had realized Blake was a Faunus the moment he laid eyes on her. He figured that she must have been trained outside of a combat school when he saw her aid in fighting the Nevermore and he figured out that she must have been affiliated with some form of organization through her interactions with her friends and her overall body language. He deduced that the organization is the White Fang due to the fact that she is a Faunus and there aren't many organizations who would train a Faunus as a spy just to have her hide that fact to blend in. It didn't seem to be worth it to him.

What he has yet to figure out is what her motives are for coming to Beacon, he told his concerns to Ozpin and he was as cryptic as ever but from what he could tell of the man, he already knew she was a Faunus when he accepted her into Beacon and that he shouldn't worry about it.

That didn't sit right with Jaune because while Ozpin was the hands off kind who would rather wait and see what would happen and hope that things work out. Jaune took a proactive approach; he'd rather avoid a problem depending on the situation than wait for it to occur then hope to overcome it.

Which is why he 'gave' her that note, asking her to meet him for a little chat in front of the statue at midnight when everyone else would be asleep. He wanted to nip this in the bud fast but Blake may be just as paranoid as he is. Or maybe she's afraid but honestly he didn't want to hurt her, that is, if she isn't a spy but her actions now are proving just that.

Blake arrived at the meeting place a good twenty minutes early to observe him. She would admit that she was now thoroughly wary of the blonde leader by now but she didn't know his intention with this rendezvous. She brought Gambol Shroud as a precaution, now she was more than certain he is...

"Blake" she was cut from her musings by a voice coming from behind her.

She reflexively brought Gambol Shroud's sheathe to bash against the unknown person. The person jumped back and Blake back flipped away and leveled Gambol's pistol form at...

"Jaune?" she stated before her eyes narrowed and her posture straightened.

Jaune as always had an aloof look but she could tell that he was serious, he had his hands in his pocket and he spoke in a casual manner.

"Geez Blake, it's midnight. Don't you think you're a little overdressed" he pointed to her.

Blake was wearing her combat gear whilst Jaune was in his sleeping wear from the first night of initiation. Blake ignored his comment and not once did she lower the aim of her pistol

"Why did you bring me out here?" she questioned heatedly, her golden eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight as her pupils became almost slits.

Jaune's posture straightened he folded his hands "do you mind not pointing that thing at me?"

When Blake remained unmoving he sighed and scratched the back of his head "alright fine" he leveled his eye at her "first of all that bow doesn't really do a good job of hiding the fact that you're a Faunus" he pointed to said bow and it twitched, "I rest my case."

Blake's eyes widened and she was about to reply when Jaune flickered out of existence before her. She didn't have time to react as he reappeared beside her, grabbed her outstretched arm and twisted it around her back, kicked her knee so she would kneel and brought a kunai to her throat. Gambol Shroud was dropped in the grapple.

"Second of all" he started harshly "I noticed that you had prior experience in espionage and there is only one organization I know that trains young Faunus in that sort of thing. Now I'm going to ask you a simple question and you're going to answer it and Blake" he pressed the knife to her throat, the cold steel made her flinch "it would be in your best interest not to lie to me. Do you understand?"

"..." she was silent and he twisted her arm a bit "argh!"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!" she grunted.

"Good" he eased the pressure "now, are you a spy for the White Fang?"

Blake eyes widened in fear, sweat started forming on her brow "argh" he twisted her arm again to voice his displeasure at her hesitance to answer "no!"

Blake felt the knife at her neck pressed further to her throat to the point where it drew blood, Jaune's voice was calm "I said answer me truthfully, make no mistake I don't care if you're my teammate's sister's partner, if you're putting them in danger I. Will. End. You. Belladonna" he reaffirmed as the knife pressed further in, her Aura started healing the wound.

"Argh wait!" she all but begged and the knife pressure eased "I-I'm not a part of the Fang anymore, I ah, I defected."

There was a pause after she spoke those words until Jaune wordlessly let her go. The moment he did she used her Semblance to gain some distance, gasping for air while clutching at her neck until her Aura healed the small wound completely. She looked at Jaune, then at her weapon at his feet, she looked at him for a while, weighing the pros and cons of trying to get her weapon and fight him.

Ultimately she decided not to engage him and rose slowly while grasping her arm. Jaune looked at her questioningly before uttering one word "explain."

She nodded lightly before recounting her tale, how she was apart of the original White Fang, the peaceful one. How they changed after new leadership took over, how she didn't support it and ultimately left for Beacon in order to start over.

Jaune listened to her story and his hardened gaze softened with each passing minute. When she finished he had only one thing to say.

"Oh" he averted his gaze down to the side and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

The gesture made Blake raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"I messed up didn't I?" he asked more to himself than her.

He stopped scratching his head to pick up her weapon, he observed it for a minute before looking at Blake, then the weapon.

He shook his head "why can't you people design your weapons simpler" he looked wearily at Blake "a Kodachi that can turn into an automatic pistol which can be used in conjunction with an attached ribbon to be used as a Kusarigama with a sheathe that can be used as a cleaver? This is more ridiculous than Ruby and Pyrrha's weapons"

Blake blinked "uh" she caught off guard by that.

He shook his head and approached her, she took a step back, he stopped and outstretched Gambol Shroud to her.

"I'm sorry alright, I thought you were a spy and I had to know" she looked at him skeptically "in my defense, you brought it on yourself when you pointed your..'gun' at me. I don't like guns and I really don't like when they're aimed in my direction."

She grabbed her weapon from him and attached the sheathe-cleaver to the magnetic plate on her back.

"Sorry" she said quietly

He waved it off "no, no it's..fine. You were a little suspicious, since you know, I kinda undermined your skills in stealth" she looked at him pointedly.

Yes he noticed that whenever he approached her she would jump a little in surprise. Well, not jump but he could see the sudden shock in her eyes when he caught her off guard. The funny thing was, that like her, he was conditioned to be stealthy at all times and him surprising her with his sudden appearance were mostly accidental.

"Sorry about that" he said with a sheepish smile.

Blake looked at him for a few moments and sighed tiredly before sheathing her weapon. She just couldn't figure it out, one moment he's so aloof that he looked like he couldn't possible be dangerous, then he showed his willingness to end her life and now he looks like a kid about to be scolded by his mother.

"Who are you really and what is your purpose here?" she asked.

Blake wanted to get to the point quickly, they'd already wasted enough time and she wanted to get some sleep.

"Well my real name is Jaune if you're thinking that I'm under an alias" he began in that same aloof manner "and I guess you could call me a..freelancer" he wanted to avoid using anything related to ninja.

"You're a mercenary" she stated bluntly.

He nodded _'I guess you could call most Shinobi mercenaries'_ he thought

"Who hired you?"

Jaune narrowed his eye "now that is something I will not answer Blake" he spoke in a tone that was resolute.

Blake nodded, she was overstepping her bounds with that question "okay then, can you at least tell me your purpose for coming here"

"I'm training to become a Huntsman" he replied bluntly and did she detect a hint of sarcasm?

Blake gave a look that said " _really_ "

He shrugged "I might as well be, since my contract is up in four years" he stated

 _'Four years?'_ she questioned to herself _'why would anyone contract a mercenary for four years?'_

"You still haven't answered my question" she reminded

"That is my purpose Blake, well at least one of them anyway" he paused to look at her "let's just say that my client and I have your best interest at heart. I won't cause any trouble or put anyone's lives in danger" if I can help it.

Blake frowned, that was too vague for her taste.

He cupped his chin "I know you defected already but you wouldn't happen to still be keeping tabs on the White Fang's activities would you?" he asked.

Her ears perked a little at this "no, why?"

"No reason, just curious" he dismissed and Blake nodded warily.

Unfortunately White Fang defectors don't tend to live long, it was half the reason why she came to Beacon. Despite her training she wouldn't last long by herself. Beacon was like a safe haven for her and it provided a chance for her to further her own goals.

He looked at her, his eye trailed over her form and suddenly he felt the need to ask a question he has been itching to ask every time he looked at her and Yang and Weiss and Ruby and... actually almost every other girl he's seen around the school.

"Blake...why do you dress like that?" he asked.

"..."

"..."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just that you don't exactly look like you're going into combat. You look like you're going to a party" he finished.

Blake opened her mouth to speak but words wouldn't form, she looked down at her attire. Granted she really didn't look the part of a Huntress going to fight the menace known as Grimm. Honestly she didn't really give much thought to her attire, the White Fang didn't really care what she wore and she just stuck with it.

She could definitely see what he is referring to but right now there is nothing she can do about it, her attire provides flexibility and is light. She would have to put some kind of light protection under it but it would do for now.

Jaune was getting a little.. nervous? Is that what he's feeling? Asking a girl about why she dressed the way she did isn't something he's used to doing (or as ever done, at all), especially when he threatened said girl's life a few minutes ago.

"Er, you know what, just forget I even asked"

She nodded as well, having been thrown from her reverie.

He did a two finger salute "see you later" he waved lazily before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Blake blinked in mild shock but decided not to question it, she was too tired to, it's been a long night and she wants to sleep.

* * *

Pyrrha's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she noticed was that it was early and the sun was barely peaking over the horizon. She sat up in her bed, her crimson hair cascading down like a red waterfall. She looked around at her fellow teammates and was not surprised to find that Ruby and Weiss were still asleep, the latter being such a heavy sleeper that Ruby had to blow a whistle to wake her, that was an eventful first morning together.

She was also not surprised to find her partner absent, his bed already made. She looked at the time, it was a little after six and she can guess where he was. She sighed, her leader/partner was still an enigma to her yet somehow she couldn't help but think that Ruby knew more about him than either she or Weiss.

She looked to the sleeping reaper, her bed hanging from the ceiling…the champion still cannot fathom why she would want her bed hanging from the ceiling. Then again over by Team BYRN they have their beds stacked over each other using books of all things to make bunk beds. She shook her head and headed for the shower.

Meanwhile Jaune was sitting alone on the rooftop overlooking the school, he could see Ozpin's clock tower off in the distance. He was reading a book which had Kanji on it with a distinct 17- crossed out on the back. He was in his Beacon uniform his now signature medical patch over his left eye shut.

' _Won't be long now'_ he thought.

Yes it won't be long until he starts his actual mission, investigating the Dust robberies and if need be take out anyone should they prove too much of a flight risk. He wanted to start making some contacts on the streets of Vale soon. Information is power after all and he'll need to alert his grandfather's Valean contact to his presence not to mention establishing new ones but first.

"Good morning Pyrrha" he said absentmindedly.

That was what the Mistralian champion was greeted to the moment she cracked open the door. Jaune was sitting on the edge of the roof, his feet hanging off the ledge, he didn't even look back but didn't need to. Pyrrha shouldn't be surprised really, almost every time she approached him he would always know and call her out. For a Hunter their Aura would be used as a means by which they could extend their awareness and the fact that he could sense her presence without one is a feat in and of itself, she often wondered just how much stronger he would be with Aura.

"Good morning Jaune" she replied with a smile as she approached and sat by his side.

Jaune regarded her with a smile and not a fake one just for formalities but a real genuine smile. It started ever since she asked where he went early in the morning, seeing no reason to lie he told her he goes to the roof to view the sunrise. Ever since then Pyrrha would come and keep him company, he didn't mind honestly, it was good to have company and he figured she would be lonely since they were the only ones who woke up this early.

Pyrrha liked having these early morning rendezvous with Jaune, granted it was quiet the first few days where she would sit at a reasonable distance away from him and remain silent while he read his book momentarily taking his eyes off of it to view the sunrise. Afterwards they would leave to wake up their two other teammates, they _had_ an alarm clock but Weiss destroyed it some time ago in a hazy fit.

Recently though Jaune had started initiating small conversations with her, Pyrrha could tell that he was guarded around them like he didn't trust them or didn't trust them enough to have a casual conversation. That was fine, Pyrrha is naturally competitive and would overcome the wall he set up to keep others out and dismantle it brick-by-brick, they didn't call her a Champion for nothing.

Jaune could be called the ultimate puzzle she was trying to figure out case in point; she's seen him with that the first time she met and he's still reading it.

' _Just what is he reading'_ she thought with a slightly narrowed eyes.

Obviously the book isn't meant for persons underage but for the life of her she couldn't figure out just _what_ kind of genre it could be. There could be a number of reason why only adults should read it: for example it could be a horror novel, contain heavy violence or even be smut. At that thought she looked to Jaune's expression which was still aloof, she wouldn't picture him reading smut but he is a healthy young man..

"Is something wrong?" she heard him ask.

"Oh, I was just wondering what kind of book you were reading. You seem to be caught up in the story" she answered, her expression unwavering.

Jaune looked at her with an expression she was unused to, he looked, surprised?

Jaune blinked and glanced at the page "really?" he asked.

' _Huh?_ '

"Y-yes, whenever you read that book you seem to be in your own little world" she answered a bit taken aback by his reaction. _'Did he really not know?'_

In the honest truth Jaune didn't really know he would come off as that when he read his favorite story. In fact it was thanks to his Shinobi training that he was still coherent enough to at least have some semblance of what was going on around him when he read. He is just that hyper aware, just like how he noticed there was something bothering her even though he wasn't paying attention.

Now how would he explain what he was reading to her, it wasn't something one could just talk about with just anyone, the themes involved were….. mature to say the least.

"It's an adult comedy" he replied half truthfully.

"Really?" she said curiously "what is it about?"  
"It's about the adventures of a protagonist who gets himself into different situations" she looked at him blankly "very funny and _creative_ situations" he finished.

"Oh"

"…"

"…."

*Book snaps shut*

Jaune suddenly felt too awkward to even read it in her presence anymore besides the sun was rising. They did what they always did during this time, stay silent and watch. As expected, it was a grand spectacle and it turned the awkward silence into a comfortable on. It also gave Pyrrha enough time to think of something to change the subject.

"We have combat classes today" she asked hopefully.

To her dismay he answered with a dull "ah" followed by silence.

The redhead's smile slowly faltered at his lack of interest, it was like when she first started trying to get to know him, when he acted like he was the most boring person ever who wasn't interested in anything.

"We should go and wake up Weiss and Ruby" he stood and outstretched his hand for her to take.

Pyrrha blinked, this was the first time he did this and usually he was face deep in his book. She gingerly took his hand and he pulled her up easily enough. His hands were soft yet firm she noted as he almost effortlessly pulled her up and suddenly Pyrrha's smile returned. Both of them headed to wake their teammates in comfortable silence, the champion oblivious to her partner's pensive expression.

 _To Be Continued…_

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 **Author's Notes: For those that didn't know I think the title says it all about this chapter, I won't insult your intelligence by pointing it out. As always leave a review.**


	10. Combat Class

**Author's Notes: fair bit of warning since I know some of you will gripe about it but there is no fight scene in this chapter most of it is just commentary.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Combat Class**

Weiss would be the first to admit that she often treated people unfairly when it comes to first impressions. Due to her upbringing she was used to a certain level of standard to be expected when meeting someone. If one doesn't meet those standards she wouldn't even talk much less socialize with you. It was especially true for boys since whenever they talk to her it would be for the usual reasons one would talk to a young beautiful girl who happens to be in the family of one of the richest family in the world and a talented singer.

It was for this reason why she approached Pyrrha Nikos, because she met those standards and Weiss honestly respected her. She's the four time Mistral champion making her famous in her own right yet humble and doesn't seem to care for her status as an heiress. Weiss had really hoped that they would have truly become friends and the best team in all of Beacon, although that was due to years of her father demanding nothing but perfection from her.

" _Schnees deserve nothing but the best"_ he would always say.

It was also the reason why she rebuffed Ruby as a partner. The reaper didn't make a good first impression and as someone two years her junior she didn't seem to even belong in Beacon especially since she is still immature, a fact no one would deny.

Lately with some mediation she has come to terms with Ruby as a partner and has even seen where she would mature in the future. Weiss even saw some of her merit since she was just as skilled as she was despite being younger.

And then there was Jaune.

At first glance she didn't think anything of the blonde, nothing stood out about him, not to mention he injured his eye which was something she previously thought was because of his own incompetence. The fact that he became Pyrrha's partner instead of hers only served to aggravate her even more.

Following the events of the initiation she was shocked that despite his lackadaisical attitude and general lack of respect towards her, he turned out to be the exact opposite of what she thought he would be: a bumbling fool with generic combat skills who wouldn't be able to keep up with her and would be of little to no help in an actual serious situation.

He had managed to prove her wrong at every turn and get them out of a tough situations one of which was caused by her own ignorance. He had even managed to become leader of the team _she_ was placed on.

This didn't sit well with her despite everything that has happened, she is a Schnee, she works hard for what she wants and a Schnee always gets what they want. To her, Jaune was not qualified to be a leader, she would rather accept herself or Pyrrha in that position. The fact that Jaune did not have an Aura served to prove her point.

She would have gone to Ozpin demanding that she be the leader too, that is, until he informed them that despite his lack of Aura he already completed a number of official Hunter missions fit for a seasoned Huntsman. The last thing to drive the nail in the coffin of her past preconception of him was the 'pep talk' he gave her. He genuinely understood her and what she went through all her life and even showed his respect, something she thought he didn't have, by effectively making her second in command.

He had managed to gain her complete and total respect, trust and acceptance as a teammate and a leader. He even managed to stir emotions within her that she would never admit to his face. Nevertheless he had proven himself and she accept that they are equals… or so she thought.

"Why.." the heiress trailed off as she watched the spectacle before her with confusion and frustration and a little bit of worry.

Her teammates shared her thoughts only for Pyrrha it was mostly worry, some confusion and less frustration while Ruby was more confused and worried with no frustration shown or felt. Even Blake was thrown for a loop, so baffled she was that she stopped reading her book to watch. Her partner Yang wasn't expecting what she was seeing, Jaune didn't look the type have this happening to him and the way Ruby was bragging she expected something entirely different.

Ren was curious as well but somehow he had an idea as to why this was happening and if he were to comment he would call Jaune a bit reckless. Nora of course didn't think about what she saw much, rather enjoying the spectacle. Glynda Goodwitch was unhappy, she had an idea as to what Jaune was doing and it didn't make any sense, she would have to ask him about it later.

They were all currently in combat class overseen by Glynda Goodwitch herself. Currently they were watching a match Jaune Arc was fighting Cardin Winchester in which Cardin was gradually winning. The fight had started twenty minutes ago and Jaune showed signs of fatigue, labored breathing and sweating through his shirt.

Cardin himself was also tired but didn't have any notable damage unlike Jaune who sported multiple bruising and scratches of which Glynda noted weren't healing. Earlier she tried to link his aura meter to the monitor for all to see only to get an unidentifiable reading. She chalked it up to the scroll malfunctioning because whatever it detected on Jaune wasn't going down no matter how many hits he took.

As the fight continued both Weiss and Glynda wondered if this was the same person they saw in the Emerald forest. There was nothing wrong with Jaune's moves per se, he still moved expertly and is tactically trying to beat Cardin. Yet they couldn't help but notice that his movements seem off, sluggish even and he seems to be concentrating more than he should. For Glynda Ozpin had informed her of his completion of several official Hunter missions.

Naturally she was skeptical. This was proven after Ozpin provided her with his dossier with all of his missions outlining descriptions, rank and completion.

Weiss didn't believe Jaune's story either and at her advice managed to convince the rest of her team to approach Ozpin about it. Surprisingly enough he had the foresight to see this coming and gave it to them without much fuss aside from swearing to secrecy. It also helped that Jaune was for the most part okay with it.

To their surprise it was over 20 pages thick and after reading through it all were surprised to find almost all the missions completed near flawlessly with a good size of them done alone. For all intents and purposes Jaune was already a full-fledged Huntsman. And those were the ones that _weren't_ classified.

*Whack*

*Crack*

"Gah" Jaune yelped as he was hit on the shoulder by a now angry Cardin.

Jaune himself yelped because he might've broken something with that strike. He dropped his short sword as he continued rolling until he stopped face first to the ground.

"That's enough Mr. Winchester" Glynda spoke before the tall boy could go through with a follow up attack.

She went to approach Jaune who was just barely getting up "I'm fine" he replied but Glynda was no fool.

Taking a good look at him her eyes widened minutely at the realization "you are most certainly _not_ fine Mr. Arc, your arm is dislocated" there was an audible gasp from Ruby and Pyrrha in the crowd.

Glynda began typing on her scroll before addressing the class "the winner is Cardin Winchester" she announced "as you saw class Mr. Arc used his smaller frame and superior speed in order to tire Mr. Winchester while aggravating him to the point where he started making mistakes" she turned to Jaune clutching his arm yet did not seem to be in pain "an admirable tactic Mr. Arc but perhaps you should work on your endurance."

"Okay" he answered simply.

Glynda took a once over at him before her eyes landed on his arm "I suggest you receive medical attention immediately Mr. Arc" he nodded before walking off the combat stage.

"That will be all for today class, make sure you prepare yourselves for the annual Vytal festival just around the corner" with that said she exited the room as did most of the students.

Jaune grunted and prepared himself for what he was about to do but paused to look at Cardin who was looking at him or rather looking _down_ at him.

"…what?" Jaune asked as if he was a stranger staring for no apparent reason.

Before the taller boy could say anything "Jaune!" the voice of Ruby rang out.

They both looked to see the rest of Jaune's team coming their way as well as team BYRN trailing behind. Cardin scowled at the sight of the blonde's team members and faced Jaune.

"Tch, loser" was all he said before he walked off.

Jaune sighed and shook his head, he knew exactly _why_ Cardin was pissed at him even though he won the match. That's the whole reason why he's like this in the first place but that would have to wait because right now he had other, better and less _petty_ things to worry about.

Ruby zipped in front of him "are you alright? Were you hurt? Is anything broken!?" she asked rapidly with worry dripping in her words.

Jaune smiled as the others came within earshot "ah don't worry Rubes, I just dislocated shoulder is all, I'll be fine I promise" he answered while closing his eye.

Ruby released a breath "oh thank Dus-wait what!?"

"WHAT!?" Pyrrha and Weiss exclaimed speeding up their pace.

"Your shoulder's dislocated?" Pyrrha asked while eyeing his dangling appendage.

"Yeah~" he drawled awkwardly "um, could you help me pop it back in there partner?"

Pyrrha blinked before adopting a serious expression and nodded "alright" she approached him.

Pyrrha made it a point to learn different types of first aid as part of her training, she could relocate her own shoulder if it ever got dislocated. She's pretty sure Jaune could do the same and she inwardly smiled at his consideration of letting her help him.

"Uh, 'pop it back in'?" Ruby questioned confused even.

Weiss looked a bit perplexed "what're you two doing, he needs to go to the school infirmary so the doctors can fix it" she exclaimed.

As Pyrrha positioned his arm he used his other and waved Weiss' offer down "nah, we've got this" he reassured her before turning to his partner.

"What's going on?" Yang asked pulling up beside her sister. Ruby shrugged as everyone looked to Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Ready?" The champion asked.

Jaune nodded "Yeah. Okay, one, two, three"

*Snap*

There was an audible snapping of bone into place, which made Ruby, Weiss, Yang and to a lesser extent Blake and Nora wince.

Jaune rolled his appendage a bit "see, good as new or you know, almost as good anyway" he commented to Weiss who sighed, she should have expected as much.

"What do we have now?" he asked as he walked over to his Wakizashi.

Weiss huffed "we were supposed to go to lunch"

"Great 'cause I'm kind of hungry" he said sheathing his blade.

"Hold it right there Arc!" she said and he immediately stopped his advance and groaned. He recognized that tone whenever she called him by his last she was usually angry at him or you know, _angrier_.

"You're not going anywhere until you check into the infirmary and have a doctor look at your injuries" she said matter-of-factly.

"Weiss I feel fine-"

"I don't want to hear it Arc" she said waving her hands dismissively.

"But I-"

"No!"

"I-"

"tut-tut" she zipped her fingers together like a closed mouth.

"Pyrrha-"

"I'm sorry Jaune" the champion said agreeing with Weiss.

Jaune deflated a little before looking at his last teammate "Ruby?"

"Nope" she said popping the 'p'

"Guys?" He looked to team BYRN, who were already halfway through the door.

Yang turned to look at the ninja "sorry but this looks like a team argument and we shouldn't get involved" she said quickly before the door locked.

Jaune looked from the recently locked door to each of his teammates and sighed in defeat "alright let me just put this back in my locker" he said pointing to his short sword before leaving.

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Jaune walked towards the empty locker room and after arriving at his own locker he removed a cloaked seal and imputed his code. The locker opened to reveal several ninja tools and pouches all neatly organized but if one were to break into the locker without removing the seal then they would only see an empty locker.

He looked around a bit before to ensure no one was there and that there were no cameras, Ozpin may know his secret but Jaune's just paranoid like that. He took off his flak jacket and blue shirt to reveal his weighted vest over his chainmail. He took it off and took the one off his legs as well before sealing them inside a scroll.

"Whew" he sighed again feeling the pressure off of him and began to make his way towards his teammates. That was one obstacle he overcame at least for now.

The reasoning behind his wearing the weights during the match was simply because it was the only way he knew to slow his movements and give his opponent a handicap while actually having to try. Depending on his opponent he would have to allocate the weight and in Cardin's case he had to wear what he would normally wear for morning trainings.

Even then the only reason why he lost was because he got tired (bored) and sorta just took one for the team.

"And he's supposed to be an up and coming Huntsman" he muttered taking out his favorite book.

Maybe it was just Jaune's luck that he was teamed up with and is friends with the best first years in Beacon because he honestly thought that most students would be as good or almost as good as his teammates but that wasn't the case.

Anyway the first step of his plan is complete and from now on he will continue with his plan to not stand out by being a completely average student. Ozpin told him that he needed to get through classes and earn his license but he never said that he should put all his effort into it. He'd do the tests and get average scores maybe an above average score every once in a while if he felt like it. He'd win some battles and lose some while gradually elevating his skills a bit over the next four years but nothing very special.

He only regretted not knowing why he came here beforehand. If he knew that this was a mission and not a dying request then he wouldn't have made such an impression with his teammates.

He sighed at the thought, he even told them about his missions. Sure they're sworn to secrecy but now he'd have to somehow explain to them just _how_ he lost to Cardin when he is very much more skilled.

* * *

Jaune walked out to see his team conversing with each other in private _'oh, oh. Well this can't be good'_ he thought with a sense of dread looming over him as he saw the three girls conversing with one another in a semi huddle.

When girls are conspiring behind your back, it usually spells trouble for the guy who's closest to them.

Weiss saw him and broke off their huddle "well it's about time" she huffed with a frown.

At this point Jaune could differentiate between Weiss' various emotions which are centered on different stages of anger and could tell that she was just mildly upset despite the indignant huff and scowl.

So he waved her off casually "didn't expect you guys to be waiting"

"Well of course we're going to wait you dolt, you're our leader" she crossed her arms.

' _Then you probably know that teammates don't call their leaders 'dolts'_ he thought.

"Yeah" Ruby chirped "besides we wanna make sure you actually go to the infirmary and not skip it to come to the cafeteria instead" she said as he walked up to them.

' _That's…actually not a bad idea'_ Jaune thought honestly, he's been through worse, hell his grandfather thought him how to relocate his own fingers…. by dislocating them. It was not a good experience.

He looked up to Pyrrha as if asking 'so why are _you_ waiting?'

Pyrrha's brows knitted together "Jaune, you're my partner, our leader and our friend. I know you don't see this as a big deal because you've been through a lot but we don't. We saw you take a hit that _dislocated your_ _ **shoulder**_. So despite what you may think we are really worried about you" she finished with her expression turned to genuine concern. The others mirrored her expression.

That made Jaune pause and the realization hit him like Cardin's mace; he honestly didn't think they would be this worried about such an insignificant injury (to him). He had to mentally slap himself.. _hard_. He wasn't in the badlands, he was in a school and the worst his teammates would experience at their current level combat-wise would be that Deathstalker they fought in the Emerald forest.

"I-I'm sorry" he apologized feeling like the world's biggest jerk, he mistook their worry for unnecessary coddling.

"Apology accepted" Weiss said quickly while approaching him "but" she jabbed a manicured finger in his chest "we _will_ be discussing your pitiful performance against that brute" she said while giving him glare that at one point actually froze a boy who was stupid enough to flirt with her.

No joke, there were witnesses.

Jaune fought back the urge to shudder in the face of her glare; there was a reason why despite her improved attitude he still called her Ice Queen.

"Y-yes ma'am" he replied while straightening his posture.

"Good" she spun on her heel and walked away.

Jaune soon followed with Weiss leading the charge while Ruby stood on his left and Pyrrha on his right. There team gained curious gazes of which Jaune tried and mostly succeeded at ignoring by burying his face in a book. He noticed that people often stared at them well his teammates anyway which was something he could understand since they're all famous.

Weiss Schnee the elegant heiress to the wealthiest family in all of Remnant, and is supposedly a talented singer, though he never got the chance to listen to one of her songs. Pyrrha Nikos the Mistrali 'Champion', celebrity idolized by thousands. Then there was Ruby Rose the child prodigy who moved up two years and stopped an attempted robbery by the most wanted criminal in Vale, Roman Torchwick.

It didn't make it any better that admittedly in their own way each of the girls are beautiful. He will not comment any further on that due to his status as their team leader. This brings him to the other problem or maybe the correct term would be _mild annoyance_. Apparently him being the leader of what others would call beautiful goddesses have made people jealous of him.

Why or how they would ever be jealous escapes him and quite frankly it's very stupid. Not like he's doing anything to them and it's not like he suddenly has a harem just because he's sharing a room with three girls. As annoying as it is that he's getting glares because of this, Jaune didn't mind or even cared.

The main problem he _did_ have was the attention in and of itself, he's already associated with three girls who are guaranteed to get everyone's attention just from their presence and naturally as their leader he will be placed under a microscope, he didn't need that, it sort of clashes with his whole ninja motif. Plus since he's treating this like a mission, he wanted to do it by taking the fly-on-the-wall approach.

Any further thoughts were halted as they entered the infirmary. It was a large spacious room, as big as a regular hospital and contained the latest in medical technology. Most of the doctors if not all are licensed Huntsmen or Huntresses with medical degrees. It is very common for when a graduate of a combat academy to pursue other careers or dabble in them to be of help to most.

"Alright I'm here" he said exasperatedly "you guys should go to lunch now. I don't think I need an escort anymore."

"Nonsense" Weiss started but was halted by Jaune's outstretched palm.

"Weiss it's fine, I know you guys are worried about me but it wouldn't make me feel better if you're stuck in here instead of getting something to eat."

As if to punctuate his case Ruby's stomach growled earning glances and in Weiss' case a glare.

The young girl laughed nervously "s-sorry"

"Case in point" he gesture to Ruby.

Weiss sighed "alright then, we'll leave you to it" she turned on her heel and went through the door Ruby followed as well.

Pyrrha went to the door but tossed one more concerned glance at her leader "don't worry about me Pyrrha I'll probably be at the cafeteria in 10 minutes from an injury like this" he reassured her with a smile at the end.

Pyrrha nodded and excused herself outside where Ruby and Weiss were waiting. They all began walking towards the cafeteria in silence, each girl contemplating something internally. It was Ruby who broke the silence after 2 minutes.

"So~" she looked to her teammates "are we gonna talk about how Jaune lost the match?" she asked then became nervous at the frown Pyrrha adopted and the downright nasty scowl her partner had.

"I don't think it's as simple as Jaune losing Ruby" the champion spoke with a pensive expression.

"Really?"

"Of course it's simple Pyrrha!" Weiss answered hotly "he lost to that brute on purpose" she answered.

"Not to me he didn't" the champion replied "he looked like he fought with everything he had and lost, as hard as it to believe." She saw it but still couldn't believe it

Ruby already knew that from what she saw Jaune didn't look like he threw the fight and _let_ Cardin win which is what confused the reaper. Jaune for all intents and purposes looked like he tried his all and still lost. She wasn't being fooled, he really looked tired and every injury he got was because he slipped up. Right now Ruby was wondering if it's some kind of special ninja skill he used to actually decrease his overall skill level and if so why?

"I refuse to believe that!"Weiss said stubbornly "we all saw how he fought at initiation there was no sensible reason why he shouldn't have been able to win that match!"

Ruby noted how Weiss seemed to be taking this the hardest and so went to alleviate her partner plus she noted how the air around them dropped in temperature.

"Well we'll be able to ask him later today" Ruby commented, hoping that would appease her partner.

Weiss exhaled sharply "yes we will" she said and the trio walked past a certain boy with a green Mohawk who overheard their conversation.

The boy trailed behind the girls at a reasonable distance secretly admiring the view of the two girls swinging hips. He'd have to report to his leader what was said, they all needed a reason to get back at that one eyed bastard anyway.

 _To Be Continued_

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 **Author's Notes: Whelp you guys all probably hate me by now or so I think but like I said Jaune will have to stay under the radar and being an average student is just a step in the bigger picture. Also sorry if you guys are feeling aggravated since I'm at the tenth chapter yet we haven't seen Jaune doing anything.**

 **Well you guys will have to suck it up, this may be a Naruto crossover but I'm taking the whole** _ **ninja**_ **thing in a realistic sense and that means Jaune is basically a mercenary/spy/assassin who also happens to know ancient mystical(?) skills. Besides I actually found the perfect scene in RWBY for Jaune to first strike so for now you guys are gonna have deal with it the drama and lack of action like I had to do when watching over the episodes to write this.**

 ***Sigh* You know what, why am I even trying? For anyone who doesn't like it can complain but I won't jeopardize what I'm doing to suite your needs since its sometimes the little things that get looked over in favor of the next grand action scene.**

 **Leave a review and favorite if you like and if you don't, well I've got 300+ people who say you can go suck it.**


	11. The Ninja, Bully and Concerned Team

**Author's Notes: tomorrows a holiday in my country (Ash Wednesday) which means no school and no way for me to use the internet. So it was either I released this one day earlier or later, I decided earlier so enjoy.**

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 **Chapter 11: The Ninja, The Bully and The Concerned Team**

Teams WARP and BYRN sat together eating their lunch while Nora told them about a recurring dream she's been having with Ren occasionally cutting in to correct her. Yang and Ren were the only ones paying attention. Jaune and Blake were enjoying a good read while Pyrrha and Ruby were throwing concerned glances at their leader. Weiss was busy filing her nails but threw subtle minute glances at her as well though her expression showed dissatisfaction rather than concern.

It had everything to do with the talk they had a few days prior where they questioned him about his fight with Cardin. Seeing no reason to lie at this point he confessed to them about wearing weights to slow himself down. When he told Ruby the actual weight he held while fighting for close to 15 minutes with, Weiss all but tore his head off.

She actually managed to pull off a great Glynda Goodwitch impression with her speech reprimanding him for being a reckless idiot who could've gotten himself killed. Pyrrha agreed with Weiss about the last two parts while Ruby was relieved that the reason wasn't because he was sick or something. Eventually they'd calm down when he gave them a legitimate reason for doing this which was actually made sense, at least to him.

He didn't want to draw attention to himself, plain and simple. He added that he wasn't like Weiss who grew up under everyone's attention and seems to actually love it. He also wasn't like Pyrrha who could hide how uncomfortable she was with attention by smiling and going along with it. He was definitely not like Ruby who would literally hide from attention or if not panic under it due to social awkwardness. Unlike them he could and actually _did_ pass off as an _average_ student in their eyes for a time and he even dared them to refute that claim.

The girls were shocked silent with some amount of guilt on their part, more of the fact that what Jaune said was in fact true. The blonde leader left his team to think over his words and reassured them that he won't drag the team down but he won't put himself in the spotlight either. It was his personal decision and they would just have to deal with it.

Remembering his accusations Weiss scowled but then again she thought everyone was below her except Pyrrha. It is something the heiress berates herself for; just imagine how many other hidden gems she could've overlooked because of that mindset? How many other opportunities wasted because of her ignorance?

Ruby was the most apologetic towards him, the first time she met him aside from being a nice guy who helped her find the auditorium and offered to be her friend he didn't come off as anyone special. If he didn't slip up and mention being a ninja then she would have just dismissed him entirely as a potential partner in the forest.

Pyrrha looked at her leader who idly took a bite of his lunch, he had a smile on his face as he read. For Pyrrha she was scoping out possible allies being very familiar with Beacon's reputation for partnerships. So using her training she was scanning the auditorium for a partner and since she would spend roughly four years with said person she didn't take it lightly.

The whole reason she came to Vale in the first place was to escape her fame, the sponsors, her adoring 'fans' who place her on a pedestal. She was immediately disappointed that Vale was apparently no different from Mistral. People either looked to her with admiration, some form of respect or even misplaced fear.

Throughout it all no one approached her as a person, anyone who wasn't afraid to, sought her out for her fame or because of some misguided belief that they were 'equals' and that was before she even step foot in Beacon. To that end she vowed to search for someone herself, it had to be someone who didn't recognize her. As impossible as it seemed, she wanted to approach and befriend a random stranger as long as they didn't know her.

Was it desperation? Very much so but then she spotted Jaune and the first thing that came to mind was, bland. He looked dull, his face was average, unlike the others he didn't dress in anything defining and he didn't even have a visible weapon. As a matter of fact it was by complete coincidence that she even spotted him, he seemed to just blend in with the masses.

To Pyrrha he didn't look too dependable, she assumed that like his appearance his combat skills were average as well. That didn't matter to her however since at the time she was so desperate that he could have had no skills whatsoever and she wouldn't mind it one bit. What her 'master plan' didn't account for was being caught spying on him.

Boy was that embarrassing.

Still it allowed her to really see his face and more importantly _not_ see the recognition she had come to expect from someone who's seen her. It was confirmed after meeting him again in the locker rooms. it took all her willpower not to jump for joy while introducing herself, something she hadn't done in Dust knows how long. She'd never felt so, so _normal_ in recent times before, it was a wonderful feeling and Jaune seemed like a good person and a good friend.

As an added bonus he'd even introduce her to two more friends who didn't judge her based on her fame as a matter of fact they didn't even recognize her or at least Ruby didn't and Yang didn't care who she was apparently. Either sibling would've been great candidates for a long term partnership, yet they didn't appeal to her like _he_ did.

Her mind was made up at that moment, she would ensure that they become partners, she wanted, needed Jaune as her partner if the next four years were to be bearable for her. After learning just how partners were chosen, Pyrrha, in a state of panic did the first thing that came to her mind when she saw him soaring through the forest. He honestly looked like he was preparing a strategy but before she knew it Milo was already soaring towards him and well…

Pyrrha gave him another sideways glance, in retrospect she acted like most people did to her. She was using him as a means to an end or at least that's what it was at first but her priorities are different now that she was surrounded by real friends. Still she was ashamed and mortified at her previous thoughts, was she really so desperate?

It left a bitter taste in her mouth, she didn't want to be that kind of person, maybe she was overreacting but she would be a good friend to him, he deserved that much. Currently he was making it difficult since he doesn't really talk, he tries but aside from the occasional small talk or joking around he's surprisingly reclusive.

It amazed her how someone so sociable could be so introverted; he was like a walking contradiction. Trying to get through that barrier was tough but she was never one to back down from a challenge. To some her enthusiasm may have been mistaken for something else, something more intimate, like an infatuation or love for example.

Pyrrha frowned slightly.

She was no stranger to the word but in all honesty Pyrrha wouldn't know anything about it. Was she in love with Jaune Arc? Doubtful, to say the least.

While he has become a big part of her life she wouldn't say she was in love with him, to her he's a really good teammate, leader and friend, the first in a _really_ long time. She knew how other people would react to her interest in Jaune, she's had her fair share of scandals being a celebrity, all of which were disputed.

The sad truth was that people, she learned, like to gossip and believe what they want to. The rumor mill works that way, one moment she bumped into someone while she was on her to another location, two days later it turns out she was at a rendezvous with her secret boyfriend. There are just some people who like to gossip.

Some like Yang for instance who was currently giving her a knowing smirk with her eyes flashing from her to Jaune. Being the trained warrior she is, Pyrrha didn't cave under the insinuation although she could have given the brawler less incentive if and stop glancing at him every now and then. But what can she do? She was genuinely concerned about her partner.

Ever since they had that talk, Jaune has been different lately, Pyrrha might be the only one who truly notices. He was a little on edge, it was subtle and he probably didn't mean for it to be shown but Pyrrha could tell. She had that same look whenever she was mentally preparing to go into combat. Thankfully he hasn't figured her concerned glances were for that instead of his _other_ problem but still she needed an angle to initiate a conversation.

Pyrrha saw an opportunity when her latest glance saw Jaune lose his façade and genuinely frowned in thought. Like the champion warrior that she is Pyrrha took that opportunity and went in for the kill.

"Jaune, are you okay?" the red head asked in concern.

Jaune regarded her with an "hmm?" as he was met with the stares from emerald, silver and pale blue eyes. At this even Team BYRN looked in his direction as if they had nothing better to do, which they probably don't since Nora finished her story.

Damn

"No, why?" he asked looking over his teammates.

"It's just that you seem a little" Ruby paused " _not_ okay"

Ruby was very grateful for the opening her fellow redhead gave, things have been a little awkward and even Ruby as seen that something was wrong with her leader but couldn't find a proper opportunity to confront him. He seemed to just disappear whenever he had the free time in that special way no one can seem to figure out.

Ruby has the sneaking suspicion that he's not even aware he does that since he confided in her that he expected all first years to be at their friends' level of skill.

Moving on, Jaune looked to everyone and smiled while closing his eye causing it to crinkle upwards, something that has come to be known as one of his quirks. Ruby dubbed it the 'eye smile' with the Nora seal of approval. *STAMP*

"Don't worry I'm fine" he reassured but they weren't convinced if even team BYRN wasn't then he really did seem out of it "I was just in deep thought about something I have to do tonight" which was partially true.

"You're going somewhere?" It was Weiss who spoke much to everyone's shock, she didn't seem to care, too preoccupied with her nails.

"Yeah actually" he trailed off to view the spectacle of Cardin and his team making fun of a rabbit Faunus.

Pyrrha saw this and commented sadly "Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you ever since you lost against him in combat class."

Jaune blinked at his partner "he has?"

The entire table stared incredulously at the blonde and Weiss actually scoffed "of course he has you dolt" she spoke with the others nodding.

Jaune raised a challenging eyebrow crossing his arms "name one time Cardin has 'bullied' me."

Ruby was the first to begin "well there was that one time when-

* * *

 _Ruby and Jaune were walking down the hallway when Jaune let out a (perverted) giggle, which Ruby did not recognize but was now curious_

" _So~ watchya reading?" she asked._

" _A comedy" was the reply._

" _Ooh I love comedies, can I see it?" she made sure to give him the puppy dog eyes for extra measures._

 _Jaune eyed the girl with a pensive expression while Cardin was about to knock the open book out of his hands when Jaune caved and shifted the book towards Ruby at the last minute._

" _D'okay here" he caved._

 _Cardin missed his opportunity stumbled slightly and tripped over Jaune's outstretched foot and fell face first on the ground. While Ruby took the book they both looked back at the now fuming Cardin standing before glancing at each other, shrugged then enter the classroom._

* * *

"-Oh" Ruby said remembering that particular event before shrinking in embarrassment "never mind" she was a still a little miffed that she didn't understand the language the book was written in.

"Any other claims" Jaune asked not dared them.

Pyrrha's brow scrunched up in thought before speaking "what about when you-"

* * *

 _Pyrrha trailed behind Jaune as he was about to enter the class when a disgruntled Cardin tried to take the brown pouch clipped at the back of his hip. The moment his hand touched it Jaune grabbed his arm, twisted it to his back, kicked the back of his knee to make him kneel and brandished a kunai to his throat. It was so fast that Pyrrha at one moment saw Cardin reaching for the pouch blinked and saw him kneeling with knife to his throat._

" _Oh it's just you" Jaune said dully before backing away "you shouldn't sneak up on people like that" the blonde said as he walked away leaving the would-be thief rubbing his arm in momentary pain._

* * *

Jaune raised an eyebrow at the champion, whose words got stuck in her throat when she remembered what exactly happened. Eventually she held her head low with a defeated sigh and Jaune looked to Weiss who opened her mouth-

* * *

 _Weiss stood next to her locker as Glynda Goodwitch explained about their locker when she saw Cardin pull up next to Jaune who was beside his own locker. Cardin grinned and reached for Jaune with one hand and attempted to open his locker. The moment Cardin touched Jaune's locker the seal he planted on it activated sending enough volts of electricity to nullify his Aura and render him unconscious._

 _Jaune stepped to the side when Cardin stiffly fell on his face, twitching ever so slightly, while Jaune shook his head before raising his hand._

" _Professor Goodwitch Cardin fainted" he announced much to everyone else's amusement_

* * *

"Ugh" Weiss groaned "alright so they were merely attempts but that doesn't change the fact he's always trying to find new ways to antagonize you."

"Yeah" Yang chimed in "makes you wonder why?"

At this Jaune deadpanned at her before looking past his concern partner then Nora to glance at his only other male friend. Yang glanced at her leader who sipped his tea calmly before placing it on the table and without looking pointed at a random group a few tables down. Soon all the female eyes turned to a group of boys who, as soon as the girls were aware of their presence, looked like a group of dears caught in a headlight.

The girl's eyed them quizzically before they abruptly relinquish eye contact and go about their business. There was a collective groan from the females except for Nora and Ruby who were confused, even Blake groaned albeit softer than say Yang and Weiss.

"Oh you have got to be kidding" Yang said in disbelief then looked at Jaune who had an eye on his book again "I mean seriously!?"

"Uh, what's going on?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Ugh, this is why men are just so.." Weiss trailed while shaking her head in disgust.

Pyrrha let out a long sigh, now she felt bad about inadvertently causing her partner trouble.

"Seriously what's going on?" Ruby interrupted "what did those guys have to do with Jaune being bullied?" she pouted.

Jaune and Blake immediately brought their respective books closer to their faces, Pyrrha suddenly found interest with the rest of her salad, Weiss began filing her nails to perfection and Ren allowed Nora to drown out everything and anyone with yet _another_ extravagant story of Monty knows what. This left Yang to take the full blunt of Ruby's puppy dog pout and judging by the beads of sweat forming, she doesn't have long before she cracks.

Bastards, heartless, gutless bastards.

"Uh, well, you see Ruby he and everyone is, uh, jealous! Yeah they're all jealous" Yang concluded.

Ruby tilted her head "why?"

"Uh.."

"She's a big girl Yang" Jaune commented earning the siblings' attention.

Jaune glanced from Ruby to Yang "you know, milk and all that."

Ruby smiled, crossed her arms in triumph and nodded "that's right!"

"Uh.." Yang was still indecisive.

"If you won't tell her then as her leader I will" Jaune stated. Being the blunt person he was he would have already told her but he decided to give Yang a chance since she's her sister.

"Ugh, **fine** " she sighed in defeat but glared at Jaune who completely ignored her.

While Yang began explaining, Jaune glanced over CRDL table where the timid looking rabbit Faunus was attempting to step away from them when Cardin grabbed one of her rabbit ears

"That Hurts!" she yelled with an accent.

This stopped Yang's explanation as everyone looked at Cardin pulling the girl's ears until he let go. The girl walked past the teams with a pained expression while holding her ear which drooped a bit.

"Atrocious" Pyrrha commented "I can't stand people like him"

"He's not the only one" Blake added.

"It must be hard being a Faunus" Yang said sadly.

Pyrrha glanced to say something to her leader only to see that he was gone, she looked around the cafeteria but he was nowhere in sight, even his tray was gone.

It was then that the realization dawned on them

"We all took our eyes off of him didn't we?" Yang commented.

* * *

Professor Oobleck zipped around the class his speech coming out as incoherent jumble towards everyone including Jaune. At first the blonde Shinobi had tried to decipher his speech but ultimately gave up, opting to reading his…creative literature instead. Besides this class was history and Jaune copied every assigned book so the knowledge is locked within. He could take the final exam _right now_ and he'd ace it, that's how good he is.

Any further thoughts were admonished when Oobleck started questioning the students "now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorist believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

Weiss raised her hand "yes" he acknowledged.

"The battle of Fort Castle" she answered.

"Precisely and, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over general Lagune's forces?" asked the green haired professor.

Above him, Cardin flicked a piece of paper at Jaune who caught it between his fingers on pure reflex. Cardin though miffed that it didn't hit still had the last laugh as Jaune inadvertently raised his hand to catch it.

Before even Jaune could tell, professor Oobleck was already before him "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class this is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune didn't outwardly react; instead he regarded the hyperactive teacher with a lazy one eyed stare. He could see his partner was about to sign him the answer so he thought to save her the trouble.

"Night vision" he said lazily before eyeing his book.

"Correct!" Oobleck exclaimed.

Cardin scowled and banged a fist on his desk in frustration, something the professor picked up as an excuse to question him.

"Mr. Winchester!"

The boy jumped a little when Oobleck called him out "perhaps _you_ would like to share your thoughts on the subject?"

Cardin regained his composure and leaned into his seat "well" he cocked both feet on his desk "I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier" at those words he checked his nails, missing Oobleck's disapproving nod.

Jaune would've sighed but thought that Cardin and anything he had to say wasn't even worth that much from him. Blake narrowed her eyes at him but also said nothing though it was more out of personal self-preservation than not caring.

Pyrrha was the only one vocal about her disapproval as she regarded the boy with a frown "you're not the most open-minded of individuals are you Cardin?"

"What, you got a problem!?" he retorted with a not so underlying threat in his voice.

"No" Pyrrha dismissed not threatened in the least "I have some thoughts on the subject" she turned to Oobleck who sipped some more coffee.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus while they slept. His army was outmatched and the General was captured." She concluded.

" _Perhaps_ if he paid attention in class he wouldn't have been remembered as such a _failure_ " Blake added.

Cardin stood up right then and there balled his fist and glared at the Faunus in disguise but was interrupted by the calm voice of professor Oobleck.

"Mr. Winchester please take your seat" he stated "you can see me after class for additional readings" the boy's grunt of frustration was ignored as Oobleck continued his lecture.

Soon after, the students began leaving and Jaune uncharacteristically closed his book shut with an unreadable expression which actually surprised his friends since he'd never done that before.

"Is everything alright Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as they headed for their dorms.

"Yeah, I just have to go professor Ozpin's office" he lied smoothly.

"Oh" was Pyrrha's reply "do you know what for?"

Jaune shrugged with both hands in his pocket "I don't" he admitted.

"But I'll be sure to tell you when I get back" he said as he broke away from the main group.

Pyrrha supposed that would explain why he seemed on edge and why he didn't bother read his book. Whatever business he thinks the headmaster wants him for must be important.

As Jaune disappeared from view, amber eyes narrowed in his direction. Blake could tell something was wrong and despite his reassurance of not bringing any harm to anyone in Beacon she was still skeptical of him. She was even more curious as to the identity of his employer and this could be an opportunity to find out.

"Something wrong Blake?"

The cat Faunus blinked and gazed at her partner and while maintaining her stoic gaze she answered "hm?"

"You okay? You seem a little, I don't know, spacey" the blonde surmised.

Blake had almost forgotten that beneath the party girl exterior Yang was surprisingly sharp or was she just that easy to read? Schooling her thoughts Blake devised up an excuse to separate herself from her team.

"I just remembered I have to return this book to the library" she held up the one she was reading "I think I'll be in there for a while" she added for good measure.

Yang shrugged "alright, I'll see you at the dorms" she waved off her bookworm of a partner.

Blake rounded the corner before she took to the rafters in Jaune's last location. To his credit he was heading for the headmaster's office but he took a detour at the last minute.

Narrowing her eyes she followed him until he went into the bathroom.

' _Dammit'_ she internally cursed.

Jaune sighed before checking the stalls for any _other_ occupants and security camera's although it would be rather awkward and downright perverted for any to be in a bathroom. Once he was sure the coast was clear he placed his middle and index finger on both hands in a cross pattern.

 _Kage Bunshin No Jutsu_

Appearing beside Jaune in a puff of smoke was…not a clone of Jaune but rather it was another boy who looked older than Jaune. The boy looked to be in his third year had black hair, red eyes, he wore blue ripped jeans, a black hoodie and sneakers with black fingerless gloves. Jaune nodded at the boy who walked out while Jaune went to wash his hands.

"Well that's one problem taken care of" the blonde mumbled grabbing a paper towel.

Now all he had to do was wait for confirmation from the clone.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And I'm going to have to wrap it up here folks and as you can see I'm still adamant about the drama and stealth features of being a ninja.**

 **And yes to dispute the whole Pyrrha is in love thing, no she is not romantically interested in Jaune (yet?), she is just the type of person to worry about people and I've just revealed the reason why her earlier actions looked like that. Sorry all you Arkos fans but on the bright side noting is set in stone yet and I'm still open to who the lucky girl could be.**

 **Bad news, unfortunately my laptop crashed (literally) so I had to scrap it but I did manage to save the hardrive and the story on a thumb drive. The problem is that I have to write the final two chapters (and climax) of the second Arc by hand before using my school's computer to type it. Then there's the beta and word count- bottom line I might be late with delivering the final two chapter when the time comes but for now I have the next two ready to be published.**


	12. Recon

**Chapter 12: Recon**

Jaune's disguised clone left the academy on a Bullhead with no problems. Tonight was the night it would go about establishing contact with a loyal informant. He got off the aircraft and walked the streets for a bit until he turned a corner and vanished into the shadows.

A blur shot over the rooftops, the usually lively night in Vale was eerily quiet, despite the Vytal Festival being held most businesses were closing up shop early, especially the ones pertaining to Dust. No doubt the cause of this is the rising Dust robberies by notorious thief Roman Torchwick. The streets were practically empty as if a curfew was put in place.

At least the legit businesses were anyway.

As he passed over the shady district which primarily operates at night he could see that business was going great. His attention was drawn to a particular club owned by his Valean informant. As usual there was a crowd attempting to go inside, Jaune couldn't help but notice how the bouncers dress exactly like the thugs who Ruby described were with Roman Torchwick the time when she stopped the criminal.

' _What a coincidence'_ he thought sarcastically before heading over.

Getting inside wasn't a problem, a simple Genjutsu to trick the thugs into seeing someone important and presto, instant access. Immediately his ears were assaulted with loud, obnoxious music that sounded like someone scratching a record.

Oh wait, it is.

He could smell the heavy alcohol in the air. Usually in a crowd like this he would create a Genjutsu to blend in but looking around he saw that most if not all the patrons are either

 _Wasted_ , he saw a man passed out on one of the table surrounded by beer bottles.

 _Tipsy,_ he saw a woman doing some form of dance that probably made sense to her while occasionally taking a sip from a glass cup.

 _Sloshed,_ a man was being escorted by two bouncers outside and by escorted he meant dragged by his arms.

 _Or slammered,_ Jaune walked up to the counter just in time for the man resting his head to take a final sip before moaning "Graugh" before falling off the bar stool.

Jaune calmly stepped over the man's body and took his place on the stool. The large man raised an eyebrow at him but didn't question it.

"So what'll it be kid" he asked.

"Information" he replied calmly before doing a few hand seals under the counter.

"Oh" the man smirked "information is gonna cost….you…" Junior trailed off looking at nothing in particular.

Jaune saw his pupils dilate for a split second before returning to normal, if it were anyone else they would've missed it but Jaune was actually expecting it. Junior looked at him again only this time with recognition,

"Follow me" he grunted and signaled a goon over "cover me I'll be back in a few minutes" he said and led the Shinobi to his office upstairs.

Jaune stepped inside Junior's office, it was just as it looked the last time he visited and just like last time the loud club music was muted the moment he closed the door.

Junior regarded the teen "I'm surprised you came alone have a seat" he gestured to the leather chair and Junior took his place at his desk "so where's the old man?"

Junior is one of the few information brokers for Shinobi but only if they know and perform the correct hand seals to release him. His psyche is protected by so many seals that even his grandfather wouldn't be able to break them before the failsafe is activated. He is uncompromising and isn't afraid of death, as information is the blood of the Shinobi world he is virtually untouchable.

Also he was one of Jonas' closest friends, that's why Jaune thought he had a right to at least know "he passed away several weeks ago" he dare not say his name, they are just paranoid like that.

Junior stared at him for a moment, his expression unreadable even to Jaune, guess it come with the territory.

"I see" said under his breath and despite his expression Jaune could see the grief in his eyes "how did he go?"

Jaune smiled under his hood "peacefully with a smile."

Junior nodded "alright, so what brings you here?"

"I need information on Roman Torchwick" he said bluntly.

Junior narrowed his eyes "anything specific or-"

"Anything you have will be much appreciated" Jaune said before tossing an envelope on his desk.

Junior opened the envelope to see a wad of Lien "there's 10,000 worth in here" he noted then looked at him for a moment "alright I'll bite." He smiled a little.

"Two weeks ago the bastard hired some of my men to help him rob a Dust shop. I guess you heard already heard about that failed heist where that little girl stopped it?" Jaune nodded "well after that he went underground, said his 'employer' found some grunts for him to work with"

"Employer?" he figured he was talking about the White Fang.

"Yeah don't have a name but I heard in the circles she goes by the name 'Queen'"

Jaune didn't give any outward reaction though his mind was busy absorbing the information.

' _Queen, then does that mean he isn't working with the White Fang? No, that doesn't disprove anything I've thought of so far but then could this Queen be a liaison between Torchwick and the White Fang?'_

That would certainly explain why the Fang would work with scum like Torchwick "is that all?"

"Afraid so" he shrugged.

"Nothing on his location or where he's most likely to hit up for a robbery?"

Junior paused to think "I don't know where he is now, he moved to a new base but if you're talking about where he's most likely to hit up well" he reached for under his desk "he did hire my services for a few more hits and I just so happen to have the name, address and time he planned to rob them with me." He pulled out an portfolio "looks like I forgot to burn it when he _terminated_ our contract"

"How much?" he asked.

"Double what you just gave me" he replied.

Jaune groaned internally, of course he could just give him the money; he has more money than he knows what to do with courtesy of his many missions. Jaune of course saw through his little game,

"Torchwick has robbed a lot of Dust shops and factories even after that failed one, I'm sure most of that information is irrelevant" he said calmly.

Junior stared at him for a while "true but are you going to pass up this information?"

"You and I both know I can do my own investigation" he replied "and all you'll be left with is a soon to be useless list of addresses" he paused "and at the rate how he's going it's gonna be sooner than later."

Junior knitted his brow then sighed, it was true of course "another ten and its yours although you can't leave with it, I wasn't joking about burning this thing"

They exchanged the Portfolio for another envelope of money and as Jaune suspected some of the robberies were already done but luckily most were still viable. He didn't need all of them just one that was close.

"Why didn't you destroy this yet?"

Junior growled "the bastard Roman didn't fulfill one _very_ important clause in our contract before he terminated it. All of the guys I loaned him never came back from that last job not to mention he never compensated for it."

Jaune nodded, knowing Junior Torchwick was probably scared the guy was going to kill him. Junior may be a criminal but he actually takes care of his people, you mess with his boys, you mess with him.

Jaune closed the portfolio and handed it back to Junior who proceeded to burn it with a Dust lighter he took from his pocket.

"So you done?" he asked dumping the contents in an iron bin.

"One more thing before I go" he paused for Junior to give him his attention "have there been any recent activity from the White Fang?"

Junior's face contorted in slight disgust "those fanatics? Hmm, let me think"

Among the few people that Junior is reluctant to work with, the White Fang is chief among them. It's not because they are Faunus but because they are terrorists. He'd rather go with plausible deniability for some of their actions and since their end goal is genocide/enslavement of the human race, they are not the type of people a human should work with.

"There was a stir about someone a few weeks back that had Roman hiring me to investigate it. Turns out he's a White Fang lieutenant who set up shop in Vale. Rumors going around that he's planning on defecting."

Jaune's interest was piqued as he placed some money on the table "tell me more"

* * *

' _She's persistent'_ Jaune sighed as he walked outside.

To her credit Blake blended almost perfectly with the shadows, she didn't make a single sound and it was doubtful even a dog Faunus would be able to notice her. Too bad Jaune has developed a sort of six sense for being hunted, it comes from spending so many time fighting against Grimm who love to stalk and hunt.

The only difference between them and Blake is that while they always give off bloodlust Blake is giving off something else. Fifty Lien says that its annoyance but that was the idea of his walking around the campus. He'd think she would give up by now since he's actually not pretending to do something until she left.

He's really finding something to do while his clone gather information in Vale. After that it will dispel itself so that he would learn what was going on and _then_ he can report to Ozpin. That was the plan from the beginning but since she's hell bent on tailing him for any suspicious activities he might as well talk to her.

"Hmm?"

There's something you don't see every day, Cardin Winchester and his cronies heading straight from the Emerald Forest and _'is that a box?'_

He shouldn't care, he really shouldn't but with the Forever Fall trip tomorrow he didn't want anything or anyone disturbing it. Normally he wouldn't care what they did to _him_ since he would more than likely ignore it but they still haven't taken the hint to buzz off and they might think to hurt his friends (or try) to spite him.

On a serious note Jaune has been working nonstop since he came here and this trip would be like a vacation and would it be weird to admit that he's looking forward to a nice quiet day in a beautiful forest doing something menial yet peaceful? All work and no play make Jaune a dull boy. Especially if his clone sent back any information which would make him act soon.

' _Not going to take that chance'_ he narrowed his eyes at team CRDL who were on their way to the dorms but just as he was about to follow he stopped.

"…finally got tired of hiding?" he asked.

Blake stood a few feet behind, her amber eyes narrowed dangerously "how long did you know?"

Jaune turned around "for a while now" he answered vaguely.

Jaune saw her jaws clench in frustration and sought to alleviate some of her insecurities "I wasn't sure someone was following me until you started getting annoyed" he admitted "after that it was easy to tell I was being followed" he added.

Her jaws unclenched and she folded her arms "don't patronize me" she almost hissed.

"Okay" he nodded slowly "so why were you following me again because I gave you my word that I wasn't going to do anything to endanger _our_ friends" he concluded.

"The word of a mercenary?" she raised an eyebrow.

Jaune somehow knew that _not_ disputing the mercenary claim would come back to bite him.

"An Arc never goes back on their word" he stated simply "this has nothing to do with my job" he frowned "it's a matter of principle, I don't involve innocent people in my business if I can help it." Which is true, at least that's suppose to be the plan but Jaune has learned that a plan never survives first contact.

Blake glared at him for a long while, she didn't know what to think of him, their first meeting had already established that he can be very dangerous. That was her fault though, he was provoked and acted accordingly, she would've done the same thing. As far as she's seen he doesn't mean any harm to their friends at least but the fact that she can't discern his goal.

Blake sighed "I.." she paused "I don't trust you" she finally said.

"As someone who recently defected from a terrorist group I don't hold it against you" he responded.

Speaking of "you said something about the White Fang before, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

She sighed "did you find anything?"

"I thought you were done with the White Fang"

"I may not be a member anymore but that doesn't mean I'll turn a blind eye to what they do" her expression became solemn.

Jaune looked at her critically, he knew that look, he frowned "like you said before Blake, they aren't the same White Fang that started out" he began getting her attention "you still think they can be redeemed?"

Blake frowned "you don't understand" she walked closer "most members are just civilians, they can't even fight, they don't have their Aura's unlocked but they're desperate enough to try anything for change."

Jaune was silent for a while before he spoke "so what if I had information about, say a robbery for example. What would you do, stop it?"

"…." She was silent.

Jaune looked at where team CRDL was and sighed, _'no use investigating them now'_ he began walking away.

"Wait!"

Jaune looked to Blake "I want to help" she blurted out.

He blinked "you know that robbery was just a hypothetical situation right?"

"It doesn't matter, if you're going after the Fang I want to help in any way I can" she said resolutely.

"..you're not gonna take no for an answer are you?"

"…."

*Sigh* he approached her until they were inches apart "fine, if I have information I'll keep you in the loop but" he narrowed his eye "it will be on _my_ terms, understand?"

She met his gaze with a glare "fine."

He extended his hand and she shook it once before letting go not that he cared "well you'll have to get back to your team now" he guessed.

Blake nodded then walked away Jaune turned away and looked up at the sky _'hope I made the right decision'_

* * *

"Guess this is the place" he mumbled.

Tukson's Book Trade where they have every book under the sun, or at least that's what the sign says. The place itself was already closed but the man or rather Faunus in disguise lives in the back. Guess he figured it would be best if he lived where he worked, not bad actually.

According to Junior Tukson is or rather _was_ a member of the White Fang running something a safehouse in Vale. A few months ago they caught wind of his plans to defect and flee to Vacuo. While they could easily just get rid of him, he was too important at the time.

He played the part of being a sort of information liaison with connections of his own; the White Fang spent the majority of the past few months getting those connections. As of now Tukson is useless to them and it's only a matter of time before they send someone to kill him. That's what Junior informed him about anyway.

The disguised clone looked at his watch "I still have an hour before he closes" he muttered.

Jaune would rather confront the man when he closes shop, who knows if he had surveillance watching him. The ninja is skilled but he doesn't claim to be the best, there is always room for improvement. Not to mention it is _very_ unlikely that people would go to a bookstore at this time of night, for all he knew he could be speeding up their assassination by going in as a normal 'customer.'

The clone sighed "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu" he muttered as another clone appeared in a puff of smoke.

*Smack* *Poof*

With a punch to the face the clone punched the newly formed one causing it to disappear, the clone sighed and pulled out a book "now to wait" he said opening the book.

* * *

Jaune was a few feet from his dorm room when he got the information, he paused for a single moment before resuming his stride. He had to take time to let all the information sink in and what an information it is. He had some planning to do and apparently there's a new player. If this 'Queen' can actually get the White Fang to work with someone like Roman Torchwick.

Coming to his dorm room Jaune knocked three times, there was the padded sounds of steps before the door opened revealing the youngest member of his team.

"Hey Jaune" she spoke "you know you don't have to knock" she walked over to continue cleaning Crescent Rose.

"I know but I didn't want to suddenly interrupt anything" he admitted.

A scoff alerted him to the presence of Weiss reading on her bed, his partner was doing some homework but glanced at him

"How did your meeting with Ozpin go?" she asked curiously.

Jaune shrugged "eh, he wanted to know what I thought of the school and my team so far" he replied opening the drawers for some clean clothes.

This got Ruby and Weiss' attention, the heiress turned to him "and?"

"And I told him that the classes are okay" he shrugged turning towards them.

"What about the team?" Ruby spoke.

"You really want to know?" he narrowed his eye slightly.

Okay this definitely got Weiss' attention, she marked the page in her book, set it down and folded her arms "well, out with it Arc" she demanded.

"Individually you girls are very skilled but you all have different weaknesses I've noticed" he looked to Ruby holding Crescent Rose "for example Ruby relies a lot on her weapon, a little too much, if it ever broke or a mechanism jammed then she'd be defenseless and forced to retreat."

Ruby's jaw dropped at his insinuation "that won't ever happen!" she cried "Crescent Rose would never… _jam_ " the words were foreign to her.

"Okay but do you believe without a shadow of a doubt that if during a battle something happened to Crescent Rose you'd be able to help the fight in any way?"

"Of course I.." she paused "I still have my Semblance!" she reminded.

"Yes your Semblance, speed" he nodded and she smiled "but you're not strong enough to do any significant damage and you don't know any hand to hand combat" he noted and her smile instantly dropped "even Weiss' Glyphs could serve some offensive or defensive capabilities and Pyrrha knows some hand to hand combat along with her Semblance."

While Ruby sulked he turned his attention to Weiss who didn't look too worried "and what would my flaw be?" she raised an eyebrow because as far as she was concerned, her swordsmanship and Semblance control were flawless.

"You're not all that strong Weiss" he stated evenly shattering any preconception she had.

"Excuse me?"

He shrugged "well physically speaking you're not that strong" he frowned "actually I think given the weight of Crescent Rose Rubes might be stronger than you"

Weiss glanced to her partner then scowled at him "I don't need brute force to be a Huntress"

Jaune waved his hand "that's not what I'm getting at Weiss, it's not about brute force" he paused to eye her critically "it's about endurance, I've seen you fight Weiss and no offense but you don't look like you've done any heavy lifting before… unless I'm wrong?"

Weiss opened her mouth to say something but after thinking about it she sighed "no, aside from my Semblance and swordsmanship training I've always had servants" she gripped her night gown tightly.

"Wait if you've done sword training then shouldn't you be at least fit?" Pyrrha voiced.

Weiss shook her head "my father forbade my tutors from pushing me, I always learned at my own pace, they never encouraged it and I never thought to push myself physically" she admitted with a frown.

"That's not good Weiss" she looked at her leader to his frown "there are very few people who can get past your glyphs but if they're strong enough to endure your attacks then they can deliver an attack that can knock you out and end it" he reminded.

He turned to Pyrrha who stiffened under his gaze, she was really curious about what kind of flaw she had in her combat prowess.

"I guess you're eager to know about your faults right?" he spoke her mind.

Pyrrha blinked at his tone but replied nonetheless "well I am curious to know what it is you think I have to improve upon." She admitted.

"You never cower in the face of a challenge?"

"No" there seemed to be fire in her eyes.

"And that is your problem"

"Huh?" she blinked

"You're too competitive" he stated "sure you're naturally a humble person so maybe that's why no one notices but you're easily the most competitive person I know, besides maybe Yang" he shrugged.

"I-I" Pyrrha stuttered

"That's okay" he appeased "I don't think you realize it most of the time but since you've been in tournaments and competitions for so long you start to treat everything like it's a challenge for you to overcome."

Something he can relate to.

"With that said you don't have a problem combat wise but" he scratched the back of his head "I think you need to loosen up a little, maybe get a hobby"

Pyrrha's mouth dropped "w-what?"

"Well I kinda notice that you don't really do much besides train and study when you have free time. Blake and I read books, Ruby tinkers with Crescent Rose, Yang fixes her bike, Nora does….stuff and Ren is dragged along every time" he paused when he received looks from the three girls.

"I-I see" Pyrrha began not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry about it I've been working on a team workout exercise to help with your problems" he paused at the door "truth be told you guys would've probably gotten over your weaknesses with time, I'm just working to speed up the process" with that he went to enter the bathroom but paused "just so you know, I have my faults too"

"And what would that be?" Weiss said calmly, of course she had a few criticisms but thought to humor him.

"I've never been on a team before so I'm used to doing things by myself, I've never lead a team before but I'm trying and…..I have trust issues" the bathroom door closed behind him as the girls shared looks.

* * *

Tukson sighed as he switch the open sign to closed, today was yet another slow day, not that it was meant to be a particularly busy shop. Still it can get boring standing around in an empty bookstore. With the Fang keeping a low profile he doesn't get any of the more wanted members as refugees.

He didn't have any problems with that at all, it makes him leaving all the more easier. In fact the only things he's required to do is give a report on how the Valean police are handling all the robberies. Tukson frowned remembering the White Fang's latest endeavors which are just the latest reasons why he's planning on defecting.

He headed around the back closing the door behind him but paused when his senses picked up the faint sound of a page turning. The Faunus slowly approached the back, his claws extended as he came around to see someone reading a book from one of the many in stock. His face was shrouded in the darkness of his hood

"Hello Tukson" the Faunus noted how young he sounded.

"Who are you?" his eyes narrowed.

"Someone not trying to kill you'" he answered "have a seat" he gestured to the wooden chair.

Tukson looked at the seat but didn't move "no thanks, I think I'll stand right here" he responded warily.

The figure shrugged "suit yourself but just so you know" he snapped the book shut and tucked it in his hoodie "if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"If you're not here to kill me what do you want? You already know I'm a part of the White Fang" Tukson got straight to the point.

"Don't you mean formerly part of the Fang?" he corrected.

Tukson's eyes widened "yeah sorry to burst your bubble but the Fang knows your planning on defecting" he informed "I think they've known for weeks now"

The color drained from Tukson's face, they knew? Then how is he still alive? "What do want?"

There was sigh "that's why I said to take a seat" he leaned forward revealing his face "we have a lot to discuss."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I always wondered why people assumed that Tukson is on the run from** **the White Fang already. It makes sense to me that he** _ **was**_ **planning on defecting but was killed before he got the chance. His name on the store front for Christ's sake.**

 **Personally I think this Arc so far is lacking in the interaction between Jaune and his teammates so I provided some as well as foreshadowing of what to expect.**

 **So I guess I can't finish this chapter without commenting on the Volume 3 finale so if you haven't watched it then probably skip this part.**

 **So we all know now that Pyrrha Nikos is dead and the cannon Arkos ship has sunk. Do I like it, hells no and after I found out I was angry as hell! But then I had time to think about it, we all like to believe that some things are meant to be, we all wanted the Arkos it was teased so many times in canon that we believe that it something that could, should and** _ **will**_ **happen.**

 **No it wasn't first of all let's look at RWBY the show that was created and written by Monty Oum, a pioneer in animation with a fetish for girls kicking ass with style (don't deny it just look at Haloid and Dead Fantasy). I think he started RWBY with a vision that is a story about four girls kicking ass, with style along with other girls (and some guys).**

 **This was his first attempt at a prolonged series in mainstream and as his growing legacy. I don't know the man personally but from what I've seen romance was never a part of work and I don't think he would want to remember him for creating a formulaic anime-esque show with silly terrorists that are evil for reasons and evil Grimm that get destroyed by anyone they go up against.**

 **No I believe he wanted his show to be taken seriously or at least not devolve into a slice of life high school drama like most anime nowadays. Pyrrha's death and the tone shift was the moment fans saw it but we should've seen it coming. Honestly Pyrrha's death makes sense as a trope for most teen drama as 'that good kid who dies and spurs on the others to act' hell, cutting Yang's arm off proved a point that things are getting serious.**

 **Did they have to kill Pyrrha though? No they didn't they could've used the death of Penny and the overall situation in itself to prove their point but ultimately it would end up like the season 2 finale. Sure it was bad but they made it out alive and it would be forgotten after a while.**

 **Her death also opens the door for Jaune Arc and team JNR to be main characters, again this could've worked with Pyrrha being alive but it just wouldn't be the same with Ruby being the only one depressed since her team is disbanded. Also Jaune Arc can grow as a character, Huntsman and a man which, let's be honest, is something that wouldn't happen for a long time with Pyrrha there to coddle him all the time.**

 **Bottom line, let's try to see the good in the bad, we're pissed Pyrrha is gone but it is always darkest before the dawn and we can at least appreciate what's to come in vol 4, not the angst or the Christopher Nolan-y atmosphere but something else, the reason why I and most of you even bother to watch RWBY in the first place and that is…. the epic fights.**

 **Because seriously that's what Monty was all about, hell that was the show's trailer and as we've seen the better fights are the ones with an edgy almost angsty tone in them. Seriously the best fight in vol 3 was Mercury vs Coco and Yatsuhashi and yes I meant** _ **Mercury**_ **that soundtrack and that beatdown was** _ **fucking**_ **epic, better than RWBY, JNPR and psh SSSN's fight hell Mercury is probably the vol 3 V.I.P especially after the letdown that was the Cinder vs Ozpin fight scene** _ **trailer**_ **.**

 **What was I talking about again?**

 **Right, as for Pyrrha well, it's why we have Fanfiction right?**

 **So for all you Arkos fans out there join me in saying a loud FUCK CANON! Pyrrha's here, she's been here and for the most part ain't going no-mother-fucking-where! She's certainly not dead in most stories and she's ain't dying in mine so let Rooster Teeth dick around with her death because we came here to read stories made by fans not debate about stuff happening in canon.**

 **So say it with me people FUCK CANON!**

 **This has been a Streggae service announcement follow him on twitter a #FUCKTHERWBYCANON. Arkos for life, bitch.**


	13. Forever Fall

**Chapter 13: Forever Fall**

Silver eyes darted around the area as the group made their way through the red forest. This was Ruby's first time in the Forever Fall forest then again that could be said for everyone else. For once she wasn't the odd one out but still she couldn't help but be awed by the sight of the red leaves. Apparently this is the only place in the four Kingdoms where they are natural. Ruby's first instinct was to take a little detour from the group and explore, no harm in that right?

"..yes the forest of Forever Fall is impressive but we are not here to sightsee Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so" Glynda spoke.

Despite the bluntness of her warning Ruby didn't feel the least bit discouraged in fact she grinned at her sister. With that the students were left to their own devices and Ruby had half a mind to just wander around enjoying the scenery. Looks like she wasn't the only one either as she spied Jaune looking around instead of in a book for once.

Even as they walked with jar in hand he glanced around and Ruby wasn't the only one to notice either.

"Enjoying the view Houdini?" Yang spoke.

"You could say that" Jaune replied then turned to her "Houdini?"

"That's what you get for doing your disappearing act all the time" she shrugged.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" he spoke with a blank expression.

Yang glared at him "seriously, you're going to try and deny it _now_? I mean sure it was kinda cool the first few times you did but~" she leaned in closer "if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to avoid me"

The lean, while not too invasive, was enough to give a generous view of her cleavage and any lesser man would've taken the bait. Jaune however looked beyond her 'inviting' lilac eyes.

"Professor Goodwitch" he greeted.

Yang's eyes widened and her head swiveled to see…no one then swiveled back to see….no one…again,

' _Dammit!'_

She looked around before smirking "oho it is on now Houdini!" she shouted before heading deeper into the forest.

She was a tease Yang would admit and with her looks it was really easy to get a guy to trip over himself. At least with Jaune he made it harder, interesting even, it was like a challenge and Yang Xiao Long never backs down from a challenge. She will get a reaction out of her fellow blonde or die trying!

When her sister was out of view she couldn't hold in the laughter any more. Ruby laughed until she stood where Yang was still laughing "yo-you can come out, she's gone now" she managed to get out between laughs.

Jaune dropped down from his perch on the branch "that was awesome" Ruby cheered.

"Meh" Jaune started "too easy."

They both started walking "so~ about that training thing" she started with her hand behind her back.

"Yeah"

"Are you going to teach us secret ninja skills" she leaned closer.

"You know Rubes" Jaune sighed "Blake acts _a lot_ like ninja too so how come you're always asking me to teach you stuff?" he asked.

Ruby was taken aback, she looked at him dejectedly "oh I didn't know I was bothering you"

"What no!" he waved her off "no I was just curious, why me and not Blake?"

Ruby lightened up but then looked confused "what do you mean? You _said_ you were a ninja"

He internally cringed at his past mistake "yeah but still."

"Well yeah Blake's cool" she began "but you're _awesome_ I mean you're so good you sneak up on Blake and you have _real_ ninja weapons" she explained "plus you're more fun to be around and you're my first friend" she added.

Now that Jaune thought about it he really was her friend and she his, so of course she would ask him and Blake wasn't approachable in that regard anyway. The answer was so obvious, why would he ever think Ruby would have an ulterior motive anyway? She is literally the most innocent person in Beacon right now.

Looking down at the younger girl he tussled her hair "alright Rubes, tell you what I'll teach you _one_ trick you can pull off."

Smacking his hand away she beamed at him "really!?"

Jaune smiled "sure why not" he shrugged

The duo walked into the clearing where Weiss and Pyrrha were trying to find places to collect sap. Team BYRN was also busy well Ren and Blake were busy Nora looked like she wanted a sample and Yang..

*Glare*

Yang did not look pleased.

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her glare, she gestured to her eyes then to him.

 _I'm not letting you out of my sight_

In a bid to humor her, folded his arms with a puffed chest.

 _Challenge accepted_.

He didn't miss the sideways glance Blake gave him before going back to catching sap in a jar. Looking around, Jaune idly noted that team CRDL was nowhere in sight and that could be a good thing depending on who you ask.

' _I hope those idiots aren't planning anything'_ he groaned inwardly.

Discarding the thoughts for later Jaune produced a kunai and began making a chipped incision into bark. Five minutes later he could see the red liquid dribbling out and held the jar next to it. He looked to the side at his partner, she caught his gaze and smiled which he returned.

' _This is nice'_ he thought looking up but then his smile faded as his thoughts drifted to the memories of his clone the night before. More specifically his meeting with Tukson.

* * *

" _..we have a lot to discuss"_

 _Tukson looked apprehensive so he sought to alleviate his worry "I'm not here to kill you" he said calmly 'if I did you'd be dead already' he added as an afterthought._

" _How do I know you're telling the truth?"_

" _Would we really be having this conversation if I was?"_

"… _."_

" _Besides why would the White Fang send a_ _ **human**_ _assassin?" he raised an eyebrow._

 _Tukson scoffed "who knows" he cautiously stepped to wooden chairs "lately I don't know where the Fang's decision lie" he confessed_

" _There a story behind that?"_

 _Tukson looked at him with narrowed amber eyes and Jaune leaned back "quid pro quo" he began "I just practically saved your life the least you could do is answer my questions."_

 _The Faunus seemed to think it over before replying "fine not like I have any loyalties to the Fang anyway" he muttered "what do you want to know?"_

" _I've been hearing that the Fang's been working with Roman Torchwick, is that true?"_

 _He nodded "yeah, our-the Fang's leader Adam introduced him. Said it was a temporary alliance and that they were working to a common goal."_

" _Dust?"_

" _Among other things"_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _Tukson actually laughed "isn't it obvious? What is the goal of the White Fang in the first place?"_

" _The genocide and/or subjugation of all humans" he replied bluntly._

" _Right" Tukson agreed "and they have to start somewhere"_

' _I knew it' he thought "they're planning an attack on Vale" he figured._

" _Before you ask, no I don't know the finer details. They stuck me at this safehouse before the Dust robberies started."_

" _Why'd you decide to quit?"_

" _Does it even matter?"_

' _More than you'd think' he thought but said "no I'm just curious."_

 _Tukson sighed "I won't lie at one point in my life I really did hate humans or at least I hated the way they treat Faunus. It's the reason I joined the White Fang and I was all for it when they decided to get violent, that's not the reason why I deserted though" he gained a distant look._

" _No matter what we did, no matter how horrible it was we always knew what our goal was, Faunus equality. Throughout the years we deluded ourselves into thinking we were martyrs fighting for the greater good but.." he trailed off._

" _Recently that wasn't the case, somewhere along the way it stopped being something of a sacrifice for the greater good and started being us against the world. It didn't matter if you were human, Faunus sympathizers or even Faunus, either you're with them or against them."_

 _He looked at him and Jaune could have sworn the Faunus aged right before his eyes "they started getting rid of anyone, I mean anyone who got in the way man, woman or child, human and Faunus alike. Equality for Faunus was thrown out the window a long time ago, now the White Fang want total control and working with Torchwick just shows how desperate they are to get it."_

 _There was a pause before he continued "so I decided to leave it, since genocide wasn't what I signed up for. If the Fang get their way then it's just going to be trading one monster for another" he concluded._

 _Jaune blinked then took a few moments to let Tukson's words sink in before speaking "I figured you wouldn't know anything about this 'Queen' would you?"_

 _He shook his head "no, the closest person to know that would be Roman."_

 _The boy nodded then stood "thanks, you should get ready to move soon" he advised "I'm coming back tomorrow."_

" _You are?"_

" _Quid pro quo remember?" he reminded "you helped me so the least I can do is make sure you get out of Vale safely." He said standing_

" _Wait, what did I help you with?"_

" _You helped me gain perspective" was the last thing he said before Tukson blinked and he was gone._

* * *

Jaune closed the lid on the jar and decided to look around how everyone else was doing. Weiss looked to be chastising Ruby who had an half empty jar of sap, Nora was eating her jar of sap while standing behind Ren who was filling up another jar. Yang was relaxing along with Blake both giving him sideway glances for completely different reasons.

Finally his partner Pyrrha gasped as she looked at him "look out!" she shouted.

Jaune's reaction was instantaneous he leapt into the cover of the branches and not a second later a jar of red tree sap smashed into the bark. Pyrrha looked in the direction where the jar came from but couldn't find the culprit. She stood from her crouched position and looked around with narrowed eyes, she had a feeling what group of idiots were behind this.

Jaune was thinking the same as he look to the four said idiots from behind. They of course hadn't notice his presence so he took his time to see what they were trying to accomplish by trying to smash a glass of red tree sap onto him.

' _let's see'_ there were four jars filled with sap so it was an extra jar. His eye narrowed upon seeing the box from last night, now that he was close he could see it was moving slightly and is that buzzing.

….

Jaune face palmed _'can they be anymore dumb?'_

Jaune decided to alert them "ahem"

Four heads whirled around with clear astonishment on their faces "you" Cardin spoke looking where the blonde was by the tree to where he is now.

"Yeah me, look" he began as they got up "so I've noticed you've been trying to 'bully' me" he quoted the word "and honestly it's getting _really_ annoying. So would you mind backing off?" he said bluntly.

Cardin was taken aback by this but only for a moment before he started laughing, the rest of his team joining.

"Oh, I have no idea what you're talking about" he smirked.

Jaune's eye narrowed "I mean it Winchester back, off" he said more sternly causing the taller boy's smirk to drop.

"And what if I don't?" he sneered getting up in the smaller boy's face "you gonna do something about it?"

"No, but _someone_ might get hurt and I'd hate for that to be you since even Huntsmen need cannon fodder" he stated calmly.

The first punch was thrown and Jaune easily side stepped it, tripping the larger boy. Cardin stumbled but regained his footing before glaring at the blonde.

"Let's not do this Cardin, trust me…"

His warning fell on deaf ears as the boy attempted to punch him. Jaune noted, as he expertly dodge each strike, that Cardin has some training in unarmed combat. He ducked a right hook, leaned back from left uppercut before instinctively lifting his leg to avoid a low kick. Jaune back pedaled from him to get a good look at the boy he was fighting with renewed interest.

' _Kickboxing'_ he concluded, definitely not as good as Yang but he's no pushover without his weapon.

' _So he's not just some mace swinging meathead, who knew'_ Jaune may have honestly misjudged him.

"What the hell are you standing around for, get him!" he roared

' _Or not'_ he sighed dodging a simultaneous blows from Dove and Russel.

' _Wait where's the other one?'_ he thought as Cardin came barreling towards him.

Jaune instinctively ducked, not because of Cardin but something else.

*Crash*

"Gah!"

Jaune once again gained distance to see what was going on. There was Dove and Russel on one side, the other member he lost, Sky looking terrified of Cardin who had red sap on his chest armor.

' _So he tried to hit me from behind and I dodged so he ended up hitting his own leader'_ he surmised.

"What the hell Sky!?"

"I'm sorry it was an accident!" the boy defended fearfully.

The pleading didn't stop Cardin from grabbing the boy by the scruff of his armor and pull his fist back.

"Hey!" Jaune shouted.

The boys looked to the blonde "are you really going to hit your own teammate?" he asked calmly.

Cardin pushed Sky away "yeah, what about it?"

"…." Jaune remained silent, his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

Before Cardin to say anymore an Ursa Major crashed through the forest stopping at Cardin's feet

 ***ROOOAAAAR***

With that roar Dove, Sky and Russel ran, leaving a gob smacked Cardin who was immediately slapped aside with a swipe from the Grimm's large paw. The Grimm didn't even spare Jaune a glance as it pursued the mace wielder.

"Ugh" Cardin turned on his back to see the approaching Grimm and brandished his ace with a grin before it turned to a horrified expression when it was easily knocked out of his grasp.

The ace landed next to Jaune but the blonde didn't so much as bat an eye at it and instead watched as Cardin tried to make a run for it only for the larger Grimm to easily leap over to block his path and smacked away taking a large chunk of his Aura.

"Gah!" he landed painfully on his back before attempting to crawl away.

At this point Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss came with weapons drawn, just in time to see the Ursa preparing to deliver the finishing blow

"Oh no" Pyrrha muttered, they wouldn't make it in time.

The Ursa raised its paw and the others felt their breath hitched.

*Squelch*

The Ursa's head popped off as something whizzed away. The body remained rooted in its position but the head landed just a few feet away from the girls.

"…what just happened?" Ruby voiced as they Ursa's body finally fell.

"I don't…" Weiss trailed off.

"Ursa's though slow are one of the stronger Grimm types" a voice began and everyone including Cardin turned to see Jaune slowly approaching Cardin with hands in pocket "and Ursa Majors can use this strength to leap over great distances. Despite their size, strength and armor they have one absolute weakness" he pointed his neck.

"No matter how old, the bone armor never really makes it to their neck, otherwise they wouldn't be able to turn their heads" he raised his hand and easily caught an object which was rapidly coming towards him.

Ruby looked at the object and mentally noted that it looked like one of his 'shuri-thingies' except a lot bigger. With a flick of his wrist all the blades aligned into one position before he placed it in the sheath behind his back.

Ruby blinked _I thought it was a sword'_

"Y-you saved my life" Cardin stuttered.

Jaune stared at him dispassionately "some life" he began coldly making Cardin flinch "you're failing classes, oppressing your fellow students because they're different and attacking your own teammates" he listed.

"I don't know why you want to become a Huntsman or what you hope to accomplish but let me tell you something Cardin. I see your future being either a. you fail your classes, b. you quit because of pressure or your general laziness or c. you die because of your own incompetence as a leader since your team was quick to abandon you to save themselves."

Jaune walked until he was towering over the boy "here's some advice, get your priorities straight because I wasn't kidding when I said you could-no _will_ die especially since you can't even take down an Ursa Major and most of the school of potential future comrades-in-arms hate your guts" he warned.

Jaune turned to leave but paused "oh" he looked at him "and my friends noticed you bullying me and while I don't really care Nora and Yang are looking for an excuse to tear you a new one" he began to walk away "and I won't stop them if they decide to do it" he added as an afterthought before giving a wave.

"Hey girls" he greeted his team "what's up?"

The girls shared a look as they walked away from the scene of the stunned bully and the dissipating Grimm.

"Well we came here to see what was going on when that brute's teammates came screaming about a giant Ursa" Weiss informed.

"The Ursa was attracted by the smell of the tree sap. It's the only thing they love to eat" he informed "besides human flesh" he added.

"And you were missing" Pyrrha added giving him her worried look, the same thing Jaune is sure he's seen just as much as her smile.

"Yeah" he scratched the back of his head giving her an apologetic look "I figured they were after me so I went to confront them and put an end to it."

"How did that work out?" Ruby asked "in the beginning I mean."

He frowned "not so good, they tried to fight me, one of them smashed a jar of sap on Cardin then the Ursa showed up so I had to.." he trailed off drawing a line at his throat.

"We saw, it was awesome" Ruby chimed with a smile.

Weiss nodded "very efficient" she commended "though I've never seen a weapon like that before" she eyed the thing on his waist.

' _More like people don't use them anymore'_

"Really?" he feigned confusion.

She shook her head "no"

"How did you conceive a flight path so that it could return to you with the trajectory in which you threw it?"

The others turned to Pyrrha who flushed in embarrassment "I..have troubles when I throw my shield, the trajectory is always off when I throw it at a certain distance."

"Couldn't you just call it back with your Semblance?" Ruby asked hesitantly. The last thing she would want to do is make her feel bad.

"I could" she admitted "but it would be nice to know. I try to limit the use of my Semblance unless absolutely necessary" she added then looked to Jaune.

"Well I guess I can help you with that" he conceded and gave him a brilliant smile.

Well he didn't expect this, guess even Pyrrha has insecurities with her fighting style. The team was met by team BYRN professor Goodwitch and RDL.

"Are you alright?" Glynda questioned and Jaune noted that she hid her worry well under the stern-like gaze "I was told there was an Ursa attack, where is Mr. Winchester?"

"I'm fine, it was an Ursa major, it's dead and Cardin is" he looked behind as did everyone else to see Cardin walking towards them with his head down, a contemplative expression upon his face.

"..he's fine" Jaune concluded _'well mostly anyway'_

"I see" Glynda eyed the teen before speaking again "I believe you have all collected enough samples. Time to go" she said and everyone walked off.

"What happened back there?" Yang asked.

"Oh you will not believe this.." Ruby began and Nora joined, always up for a good story.

As the others fell in line Jaune caught Blake eyeing him and he nodded before walking with his partner. She recognized that as the signal, she was anticipating as the one where they would need to talk. That could only mean one thing

' _The White Fang'_

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Again I surprise myself. This chapter went on longer than I thought but that's a good thing. Despite his role being the stereotypical bully in the show I imagine Cardin to have some skill in fighting without the mace. Sometimes I wonder why people portray his team as being one of the weakest. It could be that his team is just weaker than RWBY and JNPR.**

 **Hell they could be the third strongest team in first year with the worst luck since they always fight people who are OP like Pyrrha or Penny. So they're strong just not motivated to stronger and end up on the receiving end of a beatdown.**

 **Next Chapter is the one where I have to write by hand before translating to Microsoft Word so I might be late but I promise it will be in the same week. Also it will be the chapter all the actions fans will be waiting for and I plan to deliver.**


	14. Stakeout

**Author's Notes: And we've come to the finale, hope you enjoyed this one. Oh and just to be clear this takes place a week after the Forever Fall incident. Canon doesn't really give a date so I'm thinking a week.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Stakeout**

When Ozpin hired Jaune, he did it as a favour for a friend, truth be told he wasn't so sure of the youth despite Jonah's reassurance. You see despite the fact that he knew of the Shinobi world, he didn't personally know enough about them to gauge their skills. They were so scarce and leave so little behind that unless they revealed themselves you would never know anything about them.

So when Jaune came and gave him a list of possible locations along with a date and time for the attacks, he was pleasantly surprised. Even more surprised that he gave a name as to who it was that was behind all the Dust robberies.

Although he didn't actually get a name but he made up for that with confirmation and with an actual White Fang deserter to boot. Jaune Arc has surpassed his expectations and then some. Now this begs the question

"What do you plan to do with this information Mr. Arc?"

"They're going to hit another shop tonight near the docks. I'll be there and if I'm lucky I'll be able to get some information from one of the members or better yet from Torchwick himself."

Ozpin nodded "I trust you to it then"

Jaune nodded but paused to contemplate his next words for a moment before speaking "there is one more thing"

"What is it?"

"It's about Blake Belladonna" he paused "she wants to help."

"…I see" was his response.

"You don't seem very surprised" he noted.

"Yes I'm very well aware of Miss Belladonna's previous association as are you" he commented.

"Yeah, I already promised her that she could help me if I needed it. I figured it would be better to keep an eye on her so she doesn't do anything…reckless."

' _Not to mention she could have some vital information on the inner workings of the White Fang Tukson doesn't know'_

Ozpin sighed lightly "I suppose that is for the best" as much as he would _like_ for his students not to be involved in this, there are just some things he can't control.

Jaune also nodded "I'll come back when I have something else" he was about to leave when Ozpin spoke.

"Please use the door Mr. Arc"

Jaune blinked then slumped slightly "okay."

Jaune exited the elevator he needed to prepare for tonight more importantly he needed to prepare his tag along. But first he needed to fulfil his duties as team leader, that's why-

* * *

"I'm calling a team meeting"

The room's occupants all looked to their leader "may I ask what for?" Weiss asked beside her partner whom she was helping study.

Jaune closed the door behind him "well we've known each other for a whole month now and we still haven't ran any team drills. I think it's about time we started, you know with the Vytal Festival and all."

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, although she would've cheered for anything that would get her out of reading another _boring_ book.

Weiss huffed at her partner's display and stood while fixing the wrinkles in her dress "well, I suppose you have a point" she gave an approved nod while walking towards him.

"Great by the way Weiss?"

"Yes"

"What are your three sizes?"

Pyrrha looked at her partner like he just escaped from an asylum while Ruby gaped and Weiss?

…

"You know I asked that question because I wanted to order some clothes for you to train in" Jaune spoke apathetically with a massive red hand print across his face.

"Well why didn't you say that in the first place!" she hissed, her face still crimson.

Immediately after Jaune asked the question Weiss slapped him so fast that he couldn't react properly. The resounding *SMACK* echoed throughout and sent him flying all the way to his bed. She may have infused some of her Aura into the 'attack'

"Is there another reason why I would ask you that?" he questioned "because I really don't see a problem with my question."

Weiss stopped in her track and whirled around with a look of astonished fury, Ruby and Pyrrha stepped aside smartly.

"You don't see the problem with your question?"

"Not really" he shrugged "why?"

Weiss went to open her mouth when Pyrrha spoke "maybe its best if I told him"

The heiress stared at the champion for a moment before taking a calming breath "please see to it that you do."

With that she walked off and Ruby followed..at a reasonable distance. You just can't be too careful with these things. Of course Pyrrha walked alongside Jaune to explain proper manners to her wayward partner and to tell him the implications of asking a girl personal questions like what her three sizes are.

"Oh~" he drawled then looked at Weiss.

Honestly Jaune just asked as a courtesy, he could already tell their three sizes just by looking and comparing Weiss to Pyrrha or Ruby for that matter he could see why she would be self-conscious about her sizes…. or lack thereof.

Not that he'd tell her _that_ but the least he could do is apologize. People think it's some kind of dream to live with three women but in all honesty if he didn't keep himself level headed he may as well just light a match in a room filled with gunpowder.

He tentatively touched his cheek... it still stung.

* * *

Blake was anxious no anxious didn't even begin to accurately describe the feeling she had at the moment. Even her one source of comfort, the library and her books did anything to alleviate her worries. She needed to calm down though, the whole reason why she was in the library was to get away from her surprisingly perceptive partner who could see that something was wrong.

Was she so obvious though?

"You don't look so good Blake"

To Blake's credit she limited her surprise to a subtle tensing of her shoulders before it calmed just as quickly.

"Jaune" she greeted the boy who was suddenly sitting right beside her.

"Sorry I'm late I had to do some team training"

"Hmm"

"Yeah the girls are fine but I'm working on fine-tuning some of their weaknesses" he continued.

"…"

"Funny story about that, today in training…"

Blake stopped reading a few seconds ago _'what is he doing?'_

"-and Ruby accidentally got her hood caught in Weiss' glyph-"

"What are you doing?" she asked in a very dangerous tone.

"Did that manage to take your mind off your worries?" he questioned.

"What?"

"You need to relax a little Blake especially if this news might affect you as I think it will"

She took a calming breath and resumed her 'reading' but at this point was all ears "what would that be?"

"..The white Fang is in league with Roman Torchwick in the recent string of Dust robberies"

"W-HMPH!" A paper towelled hand was instantly over her mouth before she could speak.

"That was what I was trying to avoid" he said removing his hand and pocketing the paper towel.

"Are you sure?" all thoughts of reading were pushed further from her thoughts.

"I've been doing some investigations on my own and everything points in that direction."

"Did you actually see the White Fang with Torchwick?" she asked sternly.

Jaune took a good look at her before leaning forward "look Blake I know it's hard to believe that the organization you once served is stooping this low but believe me when I say that the White Fang will _never_ be the same" his eye narrowed with conviction that frankly gave Blake pause.

Her moment of shock subsided as quickly as it came and she glared at him "you made your point" she couldn't hide the edge from her voice, not from him "now answer the question."

"No I didn't see them myself.." he raised his hand to stop her when she opened her mouth "but my investigation has led to this result."

"Investigation?" on the outside she was curious but inside she was irritated he didn't include her.

"Yes investigation, to be clear I was doing it before you offered to help and even then I wouldn't include you in it."

"You don't trust me" she said flatly not a question but a statement.

"No, I don't" he admitted "you're too close to this and despite what you may think you're not very good at hiding your emotions when the White Fang is involved from what I'm seeing" he finished coolly.

She's emotionally compromised, that's what he's saying and Blake knew but it was ludicrous to think the White Fang no, _Adam_ would work with Roman Torchwick.

"You telling me all this" she began looking down "why?"

Jaune leaned back "so that it can sink in, you want to help me put a stop to the White Fang?"

Blake looked at him "…yes"

"Then you'll have to come to terms that the Fang you left isn't the one we're going to stop. You have until tonight to get your act together" Jaune noticed with small amusement that her bow perked even as her eyes widened slightly.

"Tonight?"

Jaune nodded "there's going to be another robbery, we're going to be there and you'll see for yourself" he stood up "I'll be by after everyone's asleep."

Blake didn't react as he left, she had a lot to think about. Roman, the White Fang, all the Dust robberies but she could have solace in that whether it be true or not she'll get her answers soon.

' _It could be worse'_ she thought _at least I'm not alone'_ Oum knows what she'd be doing if she were alone with all this.

She sighed, great, if anything she was even more anxious than before and why shouldn't she be? One of her greatest fears were being realised.

Outside, Jaune made his way out when his disposable scroll went off. His eye narrowed as he read the message, hopefully he'll be able to go into Vale.

Wait that gave him an idea.

* * *

"A trip to Vale?" Pyrrha questioned pausing at eating her salad.

The teams were eating lunch when Jaune brought up the question, all the girls perked at this.

"Yeah" he answered "it's a beautiful day and all so I thought why not, besides you girls did well in today's training session" he shrugged.

He originally planned to sneak out again but he's trying to be considerate of his team plus he really did mean it, they did well.

"Speak for yourself" Weiss muttered as she looked dryly at Ruby who rubbed the back of her head, it wasn't nerves but phantom pain.

Weiss did however brightened at her leader and flashed a genuine smile that caused him to pause.

This was one of her rare smiles, scratch that he'd never actually seen her smile this brightly before.

"I think it's a splendid idea Jaune" she commended "I was going to ask the very same thing tomorrow."

Jaune raised his eyebrow "really then I guess great minds do think alike" he commented earning a chuckle from the heiress

This time, everyone at the table paused to stare at her in confusion and Ruby's jaw gaped in shock, she threw a scandalous look at Jaune and mouthed 'traitor.'

Meanwhile Weiss gave a small almost unnoticeable grin "indeed" she agreed "may I suggest the docks?" she asked with a glint in her eyes.

' _The docks? Why would she want to-oooh~'_

"That doesn't seem like a fun place to go" Ruby frowned.

"That's a good idea actually" Jaune nodded.

"It is?" The redheads of their team asked.

Weiss and Jaune turned to their partners and Jaune spoke "yes Pyrrha I think Weiss has the right idea" his eyes flickered to the left.

Pyrrha followed his gaze and emerald eyes landed on a Vytal Festival banner that was conveniently being placed on the wall.

Oooh~

When she gazed back at him Jaune could see a small fire in her eyes "you're right Jaune a trip to the docks sounds grand" she beamed.

Pyrrha was on board.

"I still don't see why we can't just go to a weapons store" Ruby's voice sounded followed by the soft patting of what must be Weiss' palm on her face.

' _Note to self, work on Ruby's atmosphere reading skills'_

"You guys heading to Vale?"

"Hey sis, yeah Jaune said since we did well in practice we get to go to Vale" she said triumphantly.

A loud gasp was heard no doubt belonging to Nora Valkyrie "Renny!"

"Sorry Nora" the boy stopped his bubbly friend "but we have team training to do as well."

"Uhhh" she pouted.

"We can go tomorrow" he alleviated and she cheered.

Blake sat and began to quietly eat her lunch even as Yang began speaking "so where're you guys heading?"

"The docks" Ruby deadpanned.

Yang paused "seriously? I'd go somewhere more fun" she shrugged

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" Ruby exclaimed.

"And how is a weapon store fun?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

Ruby looked affronted but Jaune beat her to it "it's important to _her_ Weiss" he said simply and looked at girl who glared at him.

This is Ruby so the glare ended up looking like an adorable pout but the message conveyed was clear "what?"

"I'm not talking to you" she took out a bite out of her cookies.

' _What did I do?'_ he wondered.

* * *

Team WARP walked onto the docks on a mission.

"It smells like fish"

Well most of them were on a mission but Ruby still hadn't gotten why they were at the docks "yes Ruby it's a shipping dock" Weiss groaned.

"I still don't know why we're here."

This time Jaune walked beside her and bent down to whisper "we're spying on other teams for the Vytal Festival"

Ruby's eyes widened and she looked to her partner "you can't prove that!" the heiress defended.

"Pyrrha" the smaller girl turned to the redhead who averted her gaze "you guys" she muttered with overshadowed eyes

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER!?" she raged with fists in the air.

"E-excuse me?" Weiss stuttered

"Uncle Qrow always said 'if I know my enemy and know myself then I won't have to worry about hundred enemies" she stated with fire in her silver eyes.

' _He stole that from the Art of War'_ Jaune, Weiss and Pyrrha thought along those lines.

"Right!" Weiss nodded almost proudly, there might be hope for her yet.

"Now come my white hair partner grab my coat tail so we may be away!" the cloaked girl declared before disappearing in a swirl of rose petals.

And just like that all hope in Weiss vanished "I think I have a headache" she groaned rubbing her temples and this started out so promising.

Pyrrha and Jaune shared a look before chuckling at their younger member's antics before the blonde leader walked up to "alright so I've received intel that a cruise liner would be arriving from Mistral later today" he spoke half seriously

"How did you get that information?" Pyrrha questioned.

"I have my ways" he smirked.

"Wow~" Ruby breathed.

Weiss rolled her eyes "must you be in awe of everything he does?"

Ruby's smile turned sheepish under her partner's gaze "when are we expecting our _guests_?"

"In about an hour but I wouldn't put too much stock in an 'on time' arrival" despite the nature of the festival there is a security risk with the participants.

They aren't necessarily celebrities so expecting a huge crowd is farfetched but they are the best future defenders of the various kingdoms. They wouldn't put it past some people to target them so no one is supposed to know _when_ they arrive. In truth Jaune only found out because he read in a note on one of the files Junior gave him that a SDC tanker was supposed to dock in two days.

Additionally a cruise liner filled with Vytal Festival participants from Atlas Academy is to arrive as well. Guess Roman would want to keep tabs on them to avoid any complications. Jaune actually thought it was genius SDC decided to send one of their ships the same time as a Vytal Festival cruiser.

They'd be providing additional security for free without even knowing it.

"So does that mean we can do something else?" Ruby asked with hope.

"Yes Ruby we can" his eyes drifted to the left "now all we to do is find a weapon's sto-"

"This way!" Ruby interrupted.

Jaune fought the instinct to retaliate when she abruptly grabbed his hand and used her Semblance to run off leaving Pyrrha and Weiss. The heiress could only sigh as she flipped her scroll's team tracking feature on.

"Sometimes I think we're the only sane people on this team" she lamented.

Meanwhile Jaune had just about had enough of being manhandled by his younger, shorter female friend "Ruby.."

"Yes"

"You can let go of my hand now"

Still moving at high speeds she looked at their connected hands and a blush rushed to her face "gah, I'm sorry!" she let go as if burned.

Too bad she did while going 80 miles an hour in the commercial district which she realized two seconds after.

*Screech*

Like tires squealing the girl's boots scraped against the ground as she came to a slow stop _'oh no!'_

She disappeared in another burst of rose petals to come upon her leader being helped from the ground by another person.

"OhmygoshI'msosorryareyouallright?"

"It's alright Ruby I'm okay" he looked to the stranger "thanks"

The older boy shrugged "no problem" with that he walked away leaving the two hunters in training alone "and I only said let go because we were already at the store" he pointed to the building.

"Oh" the girl gave a sheepish "I guess I overdid it"

"A little" he pinched his finger together with a small amused smirk.

While they waited for their respective partners the boy who helped Jaune turned into a corner and disappeared in the shadows. He reappeared in the corner across from Tukson's bookstore, all Jaune really needed was a distraction to make a clone and Ruby provided it.

' _Thanks Rubes'_

The disguised clone went inside, as agreed Tukson would keep the store open and ran the usual operations (which wasn't much at this point) while his papers to enter Vacuo are prepared. During the week Jaune enquired not only about the Fang's past operations but also their way of life, it's like Ruby said but the original term is 'know thy enemy.'

Just as he figured and what Blake told him before the Fang were comprised of mostly of desperate Faunus civilians. The majority being the ones who have a personal grudge against the Schnees, humans in general or just love to cause pain.

Any _Faunus_ can join regardless of motive as long as they can or are willing to fight. It wasn't this bad until Adam Taurus took over from the previous leader. Jaune didn't care much about it but for the sake of the investigation he enquired about this new leader. That's when Tukson mentioned another name.

Blake Belladonna

Apperantly she was Adam's former partner, right hand, White Fang _Lietenant_ and possible lover. This came as a surprise to him, he knew because of her skills Blake would be high in the ranks but the leader's right hand?

' _I'll have to talk to her about that later'_ though if Blake is really serious about shutting down the Fang (and she is) then she'll say it sooner or later.

What Jaune also found out is that despite the Fang being one big organization it is split into two factions the idealist and extremists. The idealists were the ones who truly wished for equality, they were the ones who resided in the Kingdoms. The extremists were the majority, who used violence and have no qualms with killing to get what they want.

The idealists are used as grunts while the extremists are used to carry out the more morally questionable work. Depending on skill they are directly lead by Adam himself who is one to take the front lines on more than one occasion. In fact Tukson informed he usually went alone on dangerous missions with only one person as reinforcement.

He's not one to work behind the scenes which cements Jaune's belief of another player. Adam doesn't seem like the type of person to scheme something large scale.

*Ding*

His ears perked and the Faunus-in-disguise smiled as he "ah welcome to Tukson's- oh it's just you" his fake smile faded and he went back to what he was doing.

"Still a slow day?" the clone asked checking over some of the books.

"You could say that" Tukson said non committedly.

"Do you have my order?"

Tukson sighed going under the table and pulling out a stack of books "3 volumes of the Icha Icha series" he droned.

A gleam entered the clone's eye as he approached the counter "and they're all in the original format correct?"

"You can check them if you want."

And he would too but the original Jaune wouldn't like that "so I take it you're finished packing?" he spoke.

"I am" Tukson said "did you make the preparations?"

Jaune released a small sigh "yes your papers transport and temporary residence has already been set up in Vacuo" courtesy of Junior "since the White Fang are moving the bulk of their forces to Vale you'll be safe for the time being but I wouldn't stay in one place for too long."

The interest of the Fang coincide with this queen and he has no idea if she has spies in Vacuo as such "I'll be going with you for extra security" Tukson seemed surprised by this "I told you before I'll ensure your safe passage out of Vale"

"I didn't think you'd go that far" the older Faunus admitted.

"Quid pro quo" he said automatically "you did your end of the bargain and I'm a man of my word Tukson."

"Honourable"

That's ironic considering he's a ninja but what can you do?

"One question though" Jaune looked to him "what's going to happen to this place after I leave?"

"You don't have to worry about that" Jaune replied taking the books around a shelf and out of view where he promptly sealed them as he continued "the bookstore will still be open and running, it'll be like you never left."

' _So no one will be looking'_ the storeowner thought _'I might be able to raise some money to move into a nearby settlement or…'_

As Tukson kept thinking of his next course of action after Vacuo Jaune walked up to him "I'll see you again in tomorrow."

Tukson nodded as the raven haired boy left _'what did he do with those book?'_ after a moment he shrugged and went back to preparing for what's to come.

Jaune and his team entered their room after a long day. Like Jaune said before a ship carrying the Vacuo representatives as well as several students and teachers arrived. The team and especially Weiss was quick to welcome them, although the ninja had to reign in his white rose pair on more than one occasion.

They were a little bit too enthusiastic but luckily Pyrrha was there. It seems the novelty of meeting a celebrity was enough to over shadow Weiss and Ruby's not so subtle probing. He could understand Ruby who sounded generally curious as to what their weapons were but why on Remnant would she offer to tell them about Crescent Rose.

Truly he doesn't know if he should be amazed or disappointed none of them noticed. So far the teams representing Vacuo from Shade academy were teams NDGO and BRNZ. Jaune was able to collect some information on them from their looks and he also had some theories on their Semblances.

Believe it or not depending on their Semblance some people dress a certain way. For example Jaune knew that Yang won't be phased by physical attacks, she doesn't wear any armour and her uh…lack of clothing is so that the hit can connect with her skin. Oh yeah he recognizes a kinetic energy absorber when he sees one.

Aside from that the day went good the trip to the weapons store was educational, as someone who has never used a gun Jaune really learned some interesting tidbits. More importantly Jaune really got to see Ruby in her element, it was surprising how different she was explaining the machinations behind the multitude of weapons in there.

And yes Ruby knew _all_ about the weapons inside the store, every single one of them and if they weren't on a clock she would've spent the entire day explaining each and every one of them. Of course Jaune would listen, who is he to look an adorable gift horse in the mouth?

It certainly put his mind at ease for what's to come later that night. For Jaune no matter what the mission there was that uncertainty of whether or not he will die in the field. But as he stared up at ceiling in the dead of night with the midnight hour at hand he had no doubts in his mind

He will live.

" _Kage Bunshin No Jutsu"_ he whispered creating a clone that took his place on the bed. He then took out a scroll and after nodding to his clone teleported out of the room.

Inside the boys bathroom Jaune summoned several sets of clothing then began to undress inside a stall. After a few minutes he came out of the stall wearing grey armor over a specialized hoodie with the sleeves removed. Grey arm guards were worn over gloves that reached up to mid shoulder. On his left shoulder was a spiral tattoo and strapped on his back was a ninjato.

He looked in the mirror at his hardened eye before taking off his medical patch revealing his scarred left eye still closed. He placed a white porcelain mask on his face which vaguely resembled a wolf with red whisker like marks under the eyes. Finally he pulled up the hood to cover his blonde hair and looked in the mirror.

"Let's get started" he whispered.

In his reflection a faint red glow could be seen from the mask's left eye slits before he teleported away.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Next Chapter shit gets real.**

 **Also damnit I went back on my word again! *Sigh* I'm really sorry about all this and the late update but I had a bunch of unexpected exams everyday back-to-back. Seriously it's like every professor just decided to have tests for their classes that one week and don't get me started on homework.**

 **Anyway to the guest named Chrono about that Devil May Cry. Akame Ga Kiru crossover you suggested, first you should've put that in the review for my other stories Devil May Cry: Remnant or Tatsumi Shadow Assassin. Aside from that it sounds interesting at least but I've got a lot on my plate at the moment and the premise isn't enough for me to work on it at the moment. Sorry.**


	15. A Night On The Town Part 1

**Author's Notes: Wow...that took longer to write than I thought and I have to be honest with you guys, I finally got myself a laptop and I've been so busy with a ton of crap I have to do that this story got sidetracked along the way. Plus I got a case of...it isn't writer's block but more like laziness. Seriously I took my time writing this chapter then I got bored and did my other stories.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: A Night On The Town Part 1**

At the edge of the Emerald Forest Blake stood awaiting for Jaune to arrive. Glancing at her scroll it was almost midnight just one more minute to actually. Her eyes scanned the serene looking forest and she began to think of the things to come. More presently though she wondered why he would choose here for a rendezvous point but after the first five minutes she figured it out.

It was out of bounds to the school, there is no surveillance which she found odd since if there was a Grimm attack then this would likely be where they would attack from. Most importantly it was covered by the stray forestry and no one in their right mind would get this close to a Grimm infested forest, especially at night.

Then call her crazy then.

*Bee-beep* *Bee-beep* *Bee-bee-click*

That was the scroll alarm she set for midnight _'he's still not he-"_

"Sorry I'm late" his voice sounded behind her

You know what the funny thing is, she expected that but still jumped slightly at his sudden 'entrance.'

She sighed turning around "you're on time actua…lly" Blake's amber eyes widened at his appearance.

"You didn't think I was going out there without a mask did you?" it was meant as a joke but he was deathly serious about it.

Jaune paused however at her appearance which she managed to cover up. He had no doubt in his mind that she was surprised but her eyes didn't convey the shock, not fully. What Jaune saw for a brief two seconds was definitely recognition.

"You've seen this mask before"

It wasn't a question and Blake knew it so feigning ignorance wouldn't be a good choice even if she could pull one over him, which she can't. Besides they were partners in a common goal now, she just hope he wouldn't 'silence' her.

So Blake put on a convincing brave face "what if I did?"

"I'd say you're very lucky to be alive" he responded simply before tossing a duffel bag to her feet "change into that" he said turning around.

"Excuse me?" her brow furrowed.

"I told you we'd be doing this on my terms. I won't be seen working with a Huntress not to mention the Fang would be able to ID you and report back to your old partner, Adam" panic struck across her features for a moment but luckily he had his back turned.

"You didn't think you'd be able to hide that bit of information from me for long did you?" at this he glanced over his shoulder so the left eye slits could be seen.

Blake didn't imagine it but he was definitely glaring at her through the eye she and everyone thought was injured. The only thing she was able to make out was red before he turned around and proceeded to walk to the edge of the cliff.

"When you're done come down" with that he walked off the cliff.

Now alone Blake sighed and decided to check the contents of the duffel bag. The first thing to be seen on a pile of neatly folded clothing was a white porcelain mask vaguely resemblinga cat. Her eyes narrowed as she placed the mask down and began to undress in the nearby bushes.

Jaune didn't seem like the type to sneak a peek but she wasn't shameless either. After ten minutes she stepped out of the bushes dressed like Jaune was but without the hood and mask. With duffel in hand and Gambol shroud strapped to her back she walked off the cliff.

Once she fell halfway she used her Semblance to create a clone and hop of it to descend to the bottom. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw before nimbly landing in a crouch.

"A bullhead?" she was shocked "how did you manage to smuggle a bullhead here?"

"That's on a need to know basis" was the reply before he eyed her "I hope those aren't uncomfortable for you."

"They're fine" she mumbled boarding the ship.

Strange enough they were, in fact the clothing felt good on her almost natural. Sure it was more than what she was used to what with the arm guards and armor but they didn't feel as cumbersome as she'd expect.

The doors closed and they walked into the cockpit where Jaune took out an unlabelled can of what she assumed to be red spray paint and a plastic sticker with an intricate carving on it.

"Before we go I'm going to have to borrow you're left shoulder. I can't have any discrepancy about your identity and who you work for."

Looking at the similarity to the carvings in the bandaid she allowed him to place the band aid over her shoulder "it's a special mix so you don't have to hold your breath" he began spraying "its odourless and looks identical to an actual tattoo" he finished and took off the bandaid "you can only wash it off with soap though" he finished.

Blake rubbed her shoulder and amazingly the fake tattoo didn't so much as smear "is there anything else I need to know?" she raised an eyebrow at the masked teen setting himself up to pilot the small aircraft.

"Actually there is" he started up the engine "you need to lose the bow and Gambol Shroud and before you ask 'why' just remember tonight you're not Blake Belladonna Huntress-in-Training at Beacon or former White Fang _Lieutenant_ " he ignored the twitch of her ears at that jab and continued as the ship hovered off the ground "the moment you put that mask on your name is _Neko_."

"…cat" she mumbled as the Bullhead flew out of the Emerald Forest.

"You speak kanji?" he kept his eyes straight.

" _Hai,-sōdesu_ " ( _Yes I do_ )

" _Sore ha watashitachi no tame ni, yoriyoi tsūshin o okonaimasu_ " (Then it will make communication better for us).

" _Anata ga Neko subete no kai de, sono masuku o chakuyō shinakereba narimasen_ " he commented. (You should wear that mask at all times Neko)

She nodded placing the mask on "soshite, watashi wa anata o nan yobidasu hitsuyōga arimasuka?" (and what should I call you?).

"… _Kakashi_ "

Scarecrow huh? That made sense she supposed taking off Gambol Shroud _'although Kakashi would've fit him better'_

" _Buki no tame ni watashi wa tsukau nodesu ka nani_?" (What do I use for weapons?)

" _Joshuseki no baggu ga arimasu. Anata ga kaiteki ni kanjiru mono o torimasu_." (there's a bag in the passenger seat. Take anything you feel comfortable with)

The now masked girl nodded and made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle where another black duffel bag was laid, this one bigger than the one which held her clothes. She opened the bag to find something she never thought to have seen in real life.

Sure they made carbon copies hell she based Gambol Shroud off them but _these_ were real, very authentic made "ninja tools" she whispered " _sugoi_ " she paused at that, head swivelling around.

He wasn't behind her, good that would've been embarrassing. Now to the matter at hand.

' _Shuriken, kunai, makibishi, tanto, ninjato, kasurigama….'_ They were all there plus more. It was just like in Ninjas of Love

' _Calm down Blake'_ she mentally chastised.

This wasn't the time to geek out and even though the novelty of wielding ninja weapons was exhilarating they were still that, just weapons. In the end Blake chose the weapons that were closest to Gambol Shroud, the kusarigama and ninjato. A pity she couldn't use a shuriken and a gun was definitely out of the question since this was a stealth mission.

This got Blake thinking as she made her way to the cockpit and sat in the passengers seat "what's the plan once we get there?"

" _Sumimasen, nani_?" (I'm sorry, what?)

Blake rolled her eyes under the mask, were they still going with this?

" _Watashitachi wa soko ni ereba keikaku wa nan, iimashita ka_?" (I said, what's the plan once we get there?)

" _Karera ubau sutoatara, wareware wa modotte jibun no sōko ni sore ni shitagau tsumoridesu_." (Once they rob the store we're going to follow them back to their warehouse)

Blake nodded liking the plan so far.

"Warewarewa, bashonisen'nyūshi, sōsa no karera no hontō no bēsu ga doko ni aru ka ni tsuite no jōhō o shūshū shimasu." (We'll infiltrate the place and gather information on where the real base of operations is).

Now that was a surprise " _sōsa no jissai no bēsu_?" (real base of operations?)

" _Futsuka kono ato, karera wa gōtō ni pōto ni chakushin shite shunē no kamotsusen o okonatte imasu_ " he explained. (Two days after this they're going to rob a Schnee freighter coming into port.)

' _That should carry a lot of Dust'_ was the Faunus' thought.

" _Tsumari, ōku no dasuto gabēru de sōko ni kakushite ō sugiruto watashi wa rōma ga betsubetsu no sōkoni sore o subete no torakku o iji suru koto wa dekimasen kanari kakushin shite imasu."_ (That much Dust is too much to hide in a warehouse in Vale and I'm pretty sure Roman can't keep track of it all in separate warehouses.)

Blake pondered this for moment and came to the conclusion " _Korewawatashigakangaeteitayorimoharukaniōkīsōsadesu_ " she frowned.(This is a much bigger operation than I thought)

" _Koko ni ita_ " (We're here)

The Bullhead flew across Vale and Jaune got up much to Blake's mild confusion "kore wa Valean no kūiki ni okeru fusei buruheddodesu" he spoke eyes forward (This is an unauthorized bullhead in Valean airspace)

Blake at least figured that out

" _Watashi wa watashi ga nozonda baai demo chakuriku dekimasendeshita. Dakara watashi wa anata ga janpu shita toki ni anata ga yoi chakuriku senryaku o shitte iru negatte imasu_." (I couldn't land even if I wanted to. So I hope you know a good landing strategy when you jump).

An aggravated sigh escaped her lips as she left the cockpit, if there is one thing she hated it was being left out of the loop. Not that it mattered, she did have a landing strategy but telling her they would have to jump from a moving bullhead would have at least been helpful. The doors opened letting in a rush of wind but Blake was hardly phased

" _Junbi wa deki taka_!?" (are you ready!?)" he shouted over the winds she nodded "…. _Ikimasu_!" (Go!).

They bought jumped at the same time a thought occurred _"what about the.."_ her eyes widened as they saw the doors close and the bullhead flew up above the clouds.

Her gaze shifted to the freefalling Jau- _Kakashi_ who offered her an 'ok' sign before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Blake would have questioned what just happened but saved her breath to once again make shadow clones to stop her fall. Neko landed on the roof with Kakashi appearing not one second later.

" _Watashi ni shitagau to chika kuni taizai"_ (follow me and stay close) was all he said before proceeding to jump over the rooftops.

Neko did indeed follow and Kakashi was impressed she was able to keep up but he could also tell she must have been using a bit of Aura to propel her speed especially over those particular long jumps. He made sure to slow down soon after, it wouldn't do for her to exhaust herself before the night even ended.

They both landed gracefully on the rooftop adjacent to the Dust store slated for the robbery which happens to be where his team was earlier that day. Kakashi checked his watch, they were a few minutes early but that was either here nor there. Why would he expect a criminal to be punctual?

A few minutes later his watch beeped several times signalling the time for the heist. At the same time a tire screech alerted them to a car that just violently rounded the corner. No not car, but a van, a pitch black van with tinted windows without a license plate. He could feel his partner tense beside him.

The silence was broken over when the door of the van slid open and White Fang grunts around 7 in total began pouring out. *Smash*

The glass window of the store was broken by one grunt and immediately the alarm went off and as the White Fang soldiers went inside to collect the Dust the passenger doors opened. Black bowler hat, white suite with black pants and shoes along with his cane Roman Torchwick slid out the vehicle with a burning cigar in his mouth.

Kakashi's gaze flickered to Neko as if to gauge her reaction which wasn't much, a sudden tensing of her hands as she gripped the roof a little.

Blowing out a smoke circle the man regarded the operation with disdain "there's just no subtlety with you animals is there?" he lamented "oh well we're on a clock anyway."

Though he said that, the man leisurely made his way into the store "pick up the pace people" he yelled then looked up at the blinking red dot "and one of you take out the cameras".

*BANG*

The camera was destroyed and while it annoyed him they did it so close he ignored it for now and instead hit the cash register _'might as well get some pocket money'_

Aah~ the thankless job of a professional thief.

This mission, just sitting here and watch as they stole all that Dust was one that truly tested Blake's patience. She wanted to act, she wanted to go down there and ask why-why are they working for that-that _scum_. She knew Adam was a lot of things but whatever he did it was for the benefit of the Faunus

No matter misconstrued it got he would never allow a human into their ranks let alone give one command over them. With every sneer, every condescending remark to her former brothers-in-arms Blake's urge to go down there and strangle the red haired thief intensified to the point where if it weren't for the mask she would be openly scowling.

Yet she resisted, Blake wanted answers and as appealing as going down there and just beating the living crap out that smug bastard was, she understood the value of patience, at least when there is a clear goal at the end. One of the better things she picked up in the new White Fang.

After another ten minutes they cleaned out the store and were getting in the van again. Another thought came to Blake and no doubt Jaune as well.

' _Where are the police?'_

That alarm was disabled two minutes after it sounded but there was no doubt that the security system would've alerted the VPD.

Any further thoughts were cut off by Kakashi "Itteita" ( _We're going)_

With that they followed the van via rooftops and Kakashi noted she was keeping up with him despite the increase in speed _'I guess she has a greater motivation now'_

With mind set on the black van they stealthily kept up pace until eventually they got into the rundown side of Vale where most of the Faunus population resided. It was a place Blake recognized very well and needless to say most of its residence supported the White Fang even though not to the point of joining them.

There are other ways of being useful though in fact the entire area was something of a neighbourhood watch. They would have to tread carefully since Adam has obviously changed locations since she left. Blake would be surprised if he didn't

Eventually they had to stop when they both caught sight of several people on the rooftops surrounding a distant warehouse.

' _Sentries'_

The way how she saw it they could either take them out and move on or attempt to sneak past them. There was a problem with both plans though in that they were positioned in a way that not even a Faunus could get past them without being alert and even if both of them separate to do it there was no guarantee they could pull it off.

Not even Blake could get past this, not by herself anyway but they'd need more than just two people. He seemed to be pondering this as well before turned and placed a hand on her shoulder

"Anata no iki o tome, kore wa kimyōna kanji ni narudarou" _Hold your breath, this is going to feel weird_

She complied and nodded before her body lurched, there was a sudden feeling of weightlessness before she felt herself falling yet when she gained her wits she found herself in the same crouching position and her partner let go of her shoulder.

' _What just happened?'_ she wanted to ask but didn't.

Her answer came when she realized they weren't overlooking the sentries stationed on the roof. Instead they were crouched on the side of the building and Blake instantly knew where. It was the warehouse and they were positioned in the blind spot she scoped out.

' _He can teleport'_ she realized. A useful Semblance to have if they were ever discovered.

It didn't take much effort to infiltrate the building and they soon found themselves crouching on the rafters overlooking most of the warehouse. The place was fairly large and filled to the brim with box containing Dust. Blake would never thought she'd see as many SDC logos outside of an actual Dust store.

' _With this much Dust they could start a war'_ she thought grimly.

There was a lot of movement and Blake noticed that they looked to be in the process of moving, even the last black van she saw wasn't unloading the Dust. Down below she could see Roman Torchwick puffing yet _another_ cigar.

Blake focused her senses to drown out the chatter and focus on what the thief was saying _"….now where the hell is she…"_ she didn't get to hear anymore as the criminal walked away.

She turned to him " _Kondo wa nan dai_?" ( _What now?)_

He searched his pouch and have her…a piece of paper?

 _No_

" _Bakuhatsu tagu_ " (explosive tags)

He nodded " _Shiroi kiba wa `gūhatsu-teki' hi o motte shiyou to shite imasu_ " _(The White Fang are going to have an 'accidental' fire)_

She took them

" _Sōko no oku-gawanisorera o uemasu_." (Plant them on the far side of the warehouse)

" _Anata wa dōdesuka_?" (What about you?)

" _Watashiwa, karera no aratana kichi no basho o mitsukeru tsumoridesu_." (I'm going to find out the location of their new base)

She nodded and went to go down but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder " _Mubōna nani mo shimasen_ " (Don't do anything reckless)

Blake narrowed her amber eyes and shrugged his hand off, turning away she spoke " _shinai yo_ " _(_ I won't)

He stared at her for a while before sighing " _tada, chūi shite kudasai_ " (just be careful)

There was a quiet *swish* and she knew he was gone.

Blake jumped from the rafters and landed quietly in a crouch out of view. He gave her three explosive tags and if her theory is correct then one of these harmless pieces of paper would have the power of a small bomb.

' _Didn't Ruby say he somehow blew half the face off a Deathstalker?'_

She looked at the tags then the numerous crates filled with Dust and her eyes narrowed ' _he's planning on destroying this place and everything in it'_

But what about everyone else?

No matter how much Blake may want to take down the Fang, whole sale slaughter wasn't something she would ever consider.

' _Calm down, he said to place them on the_ _ **far**_ _side'_

She still didn't completely trust Jaune (who would trust a merc) but she could still give the benefit of the doubt.

Now resolved Blake snuck further away to where they hadn't reached yet. Navigating the warehouse was easier than she had thought, it seems that the bulk of the force was helping to pack the dust contents. There were hardly any patrols, more like some strays who had opted to take breaks

Or in one guy's case avoid work to laze around, hopefully the first explosion would jolt him awake.

 _Hopefully_

Blake reached the back and placed the tag between two boxes where it was obscured from view. This turned out to be unnecessary as just when the tag was properly placed it disappeared from sight.

' _It must be some kind of cloaking field'_

That would at least make it easier for her, her ears twitched and she hid from view.

"I'm telling you, I don't care _what_ Adam says, if that filthy human calls us animals one more time I'll fucking kill him"

Well it's good to know her (former) brothers of the White Fang are as upset as she is with them working with Torchwick.

"Don't be an idiot you know _she'll_ cut you down before you even reach her"

"Hah don't remind me about that psychopath"

"You heard what she did to Drake?"

"Who the hell hasn't?" he muttered

Blake could smell the nicotine residue off them and instantly knew they were coming from a smoke break. For a split second she wondered just who they were talking about before banishing the thought. She still had a mission to do.

Blake made to another side of the complex, this one she didn't hear anything and planted the second tag _'two down one to-"_

Her thoughts froze and Blake's head snapped up and widened as her amber eyes met curious mismatched ones.

* * *

Jaune was currently inside Roman's _office_ if he could call it that. He had used henge to disguise himself as a White Fang grunt and snuck inside. Roman had a large map of Vale with smaller circles over areas, he frowned behind his mask. If there was any document worth his time then he cleared them out and also

' _This isn't a map of potential places to rob'_ he frowned no this was something else.

He took a picture intending to study it for later and went on to the documents on the table. There wasn't much to help him in there anyway, not unless he counted cigar butts and...a couple boxes of ice-cream as helpful.

' _Someone has a sweet tooth'_ he narrowed his eyes _'and I think I know who and if she's here then this is going to escalate quickly'_ Blake isn't ready to take on someone like her not for another couple of years at _least._

He clicked his tongue while doing another sweep of the room, looks like everything was cleaned out, of course they were. For all his bravado Roman was smart or at least not dumb enough to leave valuable documents lying around.

' _Probably the first thing he moved to this new base'_

Speaking of which he should probably get back to finding the location of the base and possibly the identity of this Red Queen. That meant he'll have to interrogate the thief whom he used a shadow clone to keep track of while he searched the room.

His head perked _'what is...'_

He went outside to see a commotion there were White Fang members running about, he ran along them "h-hey what's going on?"

"They caught an intruder-"

The rest of his sentence was forgotten as Jaune took off _'shit'_

* * *

Neopolitan smirked as she rammed the point of her parasol dead centre of the masked girl's chest "gah!" she made a wonderful sound when she hit the crates.

While Roman was gone doing his little robberies for the 'fire bitch' Neo had been enjoying the scenery while sitting atop a stacked crate of Dust almost as high as the ceiling. It was only by pure luck she caught sight of a black blur moving between the crates and decided to follow.

The girl she found was indeed a Faunus like the rest but none of the grunts she'd seen were skilled enough to move like this one she followed out of curiosity (and boredom) but then she was spotted not that it mattered to her.

That is until she saw her _mask_

She knew who wore porcelain masks in the guise of animals, they aren't well known in the criminal world with their existence kept secret and Neo would believe that she might be the only one to know of their existence.

That is because she'd met one of them and _survived_ and that was only because of her Semblance. She involuntarily shuddered at the memory, the memory that has made her take an involuntary 'vow of silence' ever since.

The girl swung her weapon, a blade attached to a chain and Neo went into action serious from the start. She didn't allow a confident smirk like she would the other meat bags, the last time she did cost her dearly. The catgirl's weapon hit the glass illusion as Neo appeared behind and delivered a kick to her ribs with all her strength.

She allowed a grin once she felt two-no three ribs crack from the force, the girl grunted in agony but she didn't allow her a moment of reprieve. She held her parasol like a rapier as she delivered blow after blow that is until one went right through her.

The catgirl backed up and shakily drew her sword wrapping the chains around her hand and holding the kusarigama in a dual wielding stance. Right then and there Neo knew something was wrong, she loosened her stance giving her opponent an unsure look.

The catgirl rushed forward with amazing speed...to anyone who was a hunter-in-training. She dodged, deflected, weaved and occasionally block the girl's attacks growing more confused yet undeniably bolder by the second. Finally she used the parasol handle to hook her wrist while sidestepping a stab. Neo kicked behind her knee and held her shoulder.

She held the girl like that for a while, waiting for something to happen. Neo has heard many things about them one of which was that they were remarkable escape artists, it wasn't a semblance but a skill. She bent her hand a little more and the girl stifled a scream, this girl couldn't get out.

A cruel smirk spread across Neo's face before s the shorter woman eased on the pressure before violently dislocating her shoulder. An absolutely delightful shriek escaped the girl and Neo couldn't help but lick her lips. Her fun was cut short when one of the lazy grunts spotted them and despite her presence needlessly sputtered before alerting the entire warehouse.

She tossed the deer Faunus an annoyed glare knowing she couldn't 'take care' of him because of the last incident. So instead she clicked her tongue and yanked the girl up before doing a slight twirl and nailed her in the gut with tip of her parasol. The girl smashed into the crate effectively rendered unconscious.

Yet Neo still felt unsatisfied, she wanted more. Her eyes shifted color one pink the other white, she reached for the handle of the parasol and slowly withdrew a hidden blade. She couldn't kill her, not when she infiltrated the base something the Roman or _her_ would be interested in finding out.

And not even Neo would want to be on _her_ bad side.

So she'll have a little fun before handing over to them _severely_ bent but not broken. She's sure they won't mind.

Her eyes cast to the side to see several White fang members coming-ah an audience. It would be an understatement to say Neo loved to put the ever loving fear in the Faunus, their reactions were always funny. She managed to make one of them piss their pants once, lets see if she could get more out of them.

Before she could fully take her eyes off an explosion rock the entire warehouse before all hell broke loose. The Dust reacted as expected and there was literally a chain reaction of explosion as the Dust ignited in a shower of fire, lightning, ice, water and a myriad of other Dust types.

Another explosion blew Neo back but she managed to flip in mid air and land in a crouch. Her Aura took a hit due to the relative closeness and for a moment she was dazed. Shaking her head she turned to see several White Fang grunts coming her.

Neo's eyes widened when she caught a sight of a blur moving in between the group before the Faunus leading the group's head flew off.

"Wha-" was the only thing the other one got out before his throat started bleeding.

The dog Faunus went down clutching his profusely bleeding neck while the last one made a run for it. Neo didn't see him once he turned the corner but she heard a short scream before a spurt of blood sprayed from the corner followed by the same Faunus' body dropping in sight.

A feeling of dread came over the short girl as she adopted a defensive stance her eyes flickered over to the still unconscious girl before her entire body froze. A moment later Neo's head slid off her body and _shattered_ on the ground, the rest of her body also shattered.

Meanwhile Neo was staring at the back of her would be killer who straightened themselves while holding a bloody looking knife she was all too familiar with. Her heart rate sped up as they slowly turned towards her and she felt ice in her veins upon seeing _his_ mask. He slowly drew out his sword and that's when Neo had seen enough, before he could do anything she teleported.

The man blinked before sighing as another couple explosions hit the place _'almost done'_ he thought sheathing his sword.

He looked at his fallen partner and searched her for the last explosive tag, he sighed again before making a shadow clone "finish it" the clone nodded and took the tag before vanishing.

He slung his partner over his shoulder, collecting her discarded sword before also vanishing.

His clone crouched upside down on the ceiling surveying the damage being done, he could see some of them trying to save some of the unscathed Dust- _that won't do_. He wrapped the tag around the kunai and threw it in the general area and the explosion set off the Dust killing anyone near. That was the final straw for the White Fang members as they gave up on salvaging and focused on escaping.

' _Good'_

Still he wasn't taking any chances to deal a huge blow to the enemy nor would he allow them to get a single crate of Dust. He made several more shadow clones before they all dispersed to the far corners of the warehouse. Each clone made intricate hand seals

" **Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu"** they all intoned in unison and a wave of fire encompassed almost all the warehouse.

As the last of the fang left the building it blew up in a wave of fire that blew away anyone close and lit up the night sky.

He watched as the fire erupted and the panic ensued _'4 out of 5 isn't so bad'_ he mused before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: First things first I introduced some Japanese dialogue straight from google translate so if there is any discrepancy (and I** _ **know**_ **there is) don't mention it.**

 **There is a story behind Blake and ninjas which I have hinted on in the past and now confirmed..I'll reveal that later. Neo has also met up with shinobi and is as afraid of them as she is of a certain mask wearing , sword wielding Huntress.**

 **I made Neo more human and I've also had her thoroughly trounce Blake to cement the fact that yes she is still a badass. It was actually fun writing from Neo's perspective and she is definitely my second favourite cute, creepy, pink haired psycho girl (first place is and will always be Gasai Yuno).**

 **Now then, the elephant in the room *Gasp* Jaune called himself Kakashi,** _ **no way**_ **. Well there is a reason for that and it will be revealed...*insert here* so don't worry about it.**

 **Looking back I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter, something seems off but I'll let you guys decide in your reviews. Next chapter is the last one of the second Arc and there probably won't be a chapter length epilogue.**


	16. Winding Down

**Author's Notes: Just wanted to say, especially to that one guest who laughed at the Japanese last chapter, you don't have to be d**k about it. Also I know its not called Kanji but I can't very well call it Japanese since Japan doesn't exist on Remnant. But you know what I'll just forgo the whole actually speaking Japanese to limit it in captions, it's not worth the work.**

 **Chapter 16: Winding Down**

"Ugh" Blake's never felt this sore since, since she was a part of the White Fang.

With that her eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up only to wince at the pain in her right arm. Then she remembered just why her arm hurt so much, she fought that girl with the tri-color hair and lost…badly. Blake frowned, defeat stung especially from an unlikely opponent, it's something Blake has learned to live with especially after her friendly match with her partner.

Yet even when she lost against Yang she'd never been so thoroughly outclassed. Her fist tightened at the thought of that girl whose name she didn't know. After releasing a silent calming breath she surveyed the room, her dorm room to be exact.

' _How did I even get here?'_

She was in Vale with Jaune last she was awake, with a dislocated arm and wearing….! She looked down to see that she was wearing her yukata.

' _How…wait.'_

She was in her dormroom, wearing her yukata, the pain in her arm meant that what she experienced wasn't a dream. So did that mean he carried her back to Beacon, set her arm and..dressed her in her sleepwear…

Her thoughts trailed off and an infuriating blush spread across her cheek _'he_ _ **undressed**_ _me.'_

It was there in the wee hours of the morning did Blake Belladonna swore to kill Jaune Arc the next time she saw him.

Meanwhile Jaune's body shuddered even as he slept.

\

Emerald eyes fluttered open to the sound of the shower being used and for a moment she wondered if she had overslept and Ruby decided to use the bathroom. Eventually she banished those thoughts once she looked over the other side of the room where Ruby's hand could be seen dangling over the edge. Weiss wasn't a morning person so it couldn't have been her so then that meant

' _Jaune'_ was the instant thought.

She chanced a glance at the clock, it was the same time she'd always gotten up at so that would mean Jaune was the one who woke up late. It was odd in that he doesn't seem the type to over sleep.

' _Did something happen last night?'_

So caught up in her musings Pyrrha didn't notice that the shower had stopped for a long while now but her attention was garnered when the door opened. A wave of warm air washed over the room as Jaune stepped out with a towel over his head….shirtless. He was still wiping his head with a towel when he finally noticed that she was awake and staring at his half naked form.

Let the record show that Pyrrha Nikos has seen men shirtless before, many times in fact. Heck she's seen them fully nude before and even though she was no stranger to them she couldn't help but stare at her partner. More specifically she _couldn't_ help but stare at the many scars riddled over his torso.

It is a fact that Huntsmen don't receive much scars during their years in service, between Aura, their team work and skills they don't leave themselves vulnerable long enough to be scarred. There are exceptions and Huntsmen are rarely left unscathed but that is the general consensus.

Jaune however, had his entire body covered in scars and Pyrrha swallowed lightly when she saw the location of some of them. Additionally there weren't just signs of Grimm attacks but she saw bullet wounds and burn marks. Just thinking about how he could have attained some of them made her cringe.

 _Monty what he must have went through._

For Jaune's part he internally cursed at his blunder, earlier that morning he had to use what little he knew of medical ninjustu to help heal Blake's arm once he set it in. She was low on Aura and considering she was his responsibility the least he could do was help to alleviate the pain so instead she would experience some soreness.

The problem was that Jaune wasn't too familiar with how to transfer chakra to someone with Aura. The way how it normally worked was that one would mold their chakra a certain way so that it would heal another person or themselves. The problem with Aura users was that the chakra molded would be treated like an invading force (which in a way it was) and they would be shielded from it.

This meant that Jaune had to spend additional time molding his chakra so that it would be accepted by Blake's Aura and help in the healing process. By the time he finally got it right he had used up almost all of his reserve resulting in fatigue.

To put it bluntly Jaune wasn't at one hundred percent, he woke up later than usual and his mind was so tired and sleep deprived that he forgot to bring a shirt before going inside.

Now he was fresh out the bathroom shirtless while flashing his scars to his partner. That little bit was something he wanted to _not_ show anyone for the time being. Especially not Pyrrha and the reason why was as plain as day. He didn't want her to look at him with eyes like that, those 'worry eyes.'

Jaune preferred the competitive, fiery eyed Pyrrha than the coddling, motherly Pyrrha any day of the week.

"Jaune, those scars.." she looked him in the eye and for a moment he thought about casting a genjutsu to make her forget the last two minutes and give him time to put a shirt on.

In the end he sighed "Pyrrha" his voice was stern as he leveled a tired gaze at her "don't, okay just…don't" he didn't even try to hide how tired he was.

Pyrrha shut her mouth but frowned even as her gaze followed him and confirmed that even his back had scars before they were obscured by his white T-shirt. She wanted to ask she really did, no one should have that much scars on their body and be completely fine. Then she reminded herself that he was the equivalent of a veteran Huntsman if his mission stats were correct.

Plus he didn't have any Aura so it only made sense that he would accumulate scars over time. Yet at the same time she couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he would just brush her off like that without repentance of any kind.

Was she not his partner?

Didn't he trust her?

…was she making a big deal out of nothing?

Maybe, but still his dismissal stung.

' _Calm down'_ she sighed getting up and heading into the bathroom _'he'll tell me when he's ready'_

Pyrrha had come to know Jaune as a lot of things and among them was intelligent, mature and most importantly he was experienced. Pyrrha understands that in order gain his level of experience one would have to be through some hardships and Jaune looked like he'd been through hell and back.

Jaune had to admit, he could've handled that situation better and he'll definitely apologize but for now he had a busy schedule to keep today and at the moment he was feeling positively famished.

\

' _I think she's mad at me'_

Jaune seemed to be the only who has noticed it but ever since Blake entered the cafeteria he could almost touch the killing intent radiating off of her. Of course she's doing a good job of masking it from the people who should really care the most about her well-being.

Ren already knew something was up but since it involved Jaune carrying her to the dorm at 2am he chose to let them resolve it. Her unusually sharp partner's attention was currently focused on Jaune. Yang decided to throw subtlety out the window in order to actively keep her eye on her fellow blonde.

"Would you stop staring at our leader already!" Weiss finally snapped.

Her eyes drifted to the irate heiress but then she saw movement at the corner and turned back to Jaune "oho nice try Houdini but you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that!"

"Uh sis don't you think you're taking this a little too far? I mean you've been staring ever since you came in."

It's true , she almost trip and fell twice and picked up some random junk because her eyes literally didn't leave Jaune's position.

"Well I tried to convince cereal girl to let me handcuff our hands together but she said no" the blonde brawler said a-matter-of-factly.

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably remembering that very awkward conversation. Then Weiss asked the same question she did the first time she heard the request

"And where pray tell will you be getting handcuffs from" she raised an eye brow.

Without taking her eyes off Jaune she held up two pairs of military grade Aura draining handcuffs "I already own a pair."

There was long bout of silence before Ruby hesitantly spoke "Yang, where did you get handcuffs?"

"I know a guy."

"Who?"

"We don't deal with names Rubes"

"Did you get those handcuffs specifically to cuff Jaune?"

"No I got them for Nora" her voice was irritated.

Now everyone's attention (sans Yang) were on the bubbly girl in question "It was an accident"

"The hell it was!"

"What exactly did she do?" Pyrrha asked now curious as to why she would get handcuffs.

"Nora got bored yesterday and decided to cut Yang's hair to see what would happen" Blake informed.

Ruby stared at Nora like she was insane and in retrospect that could be the case.

"So that's what _that_ was about" Jaune said looking at Yang "I thought one of Nora's grenades went off near Yang's Dust rounds."

"Same difference" Ren gave Nora a stern look and the girl smiled bashfully.

\

Jaune didn't get a chance to meet with Blake until lunch came around as agreed upon. He knew she was mad about something he apparently did so he decided to take the normal approach. Literally, he didn't bother appearing beside her, if she was pissed at him he wouldn't want her to lash out and cause a scene. Though she doesn't seem the type to that he wasn't about to chance it.

"Blake" the girl looked up to glare death at him and he decided _not_ to sit beside her.

"Jaune" she answered tersely.

He sat across from her and gave her a curious glance "alright I'll bite, why exactly are you mad at me?"

"You know why"

Jaune blinked and fought the urge to groan "is this about last night?"

"Yes" she practically hissed.

"What would you have me do then? Put you in bed wearing that?"

"You could've woke me up."

"And you didn't think that was the first thing I tried?" he leaned forward "listen I don't know or care what you _thought_ I did to you while unconscious but I'll just remind you that I am a professional and I don't mix business with pleasure. You were injured and low on Aura I thought to do you a favor and let you get some well deserved rest. Now can we please get down to business before your partner's manhunt for me bears fruit?"

Blake's eyes narrowed at him, she was hardly one to take things at face value but the least she could do was give him the benefit of the doubt.

Finally she sighed "did you get any information from Torchwick before…" she let it hand.

"Before you were soundly beaten by the dwarf with an ice-cream theme?"

Blake glared at him but stayed quiet. She wasn't one to be vain but the way how that _girl_ just toyed with her stung. It was the most overwhelming and humiliating defeat in her life. It was even worse than the times she sparred with Adam and considering how serious he took _any_ form of combat that was saying something.

"Don't let it get you down" Jaune sat beside her "her name is Neopolitan"

Blake gave him a look "seriously?"

He shrugged "that's what she goes by. Anyway she's highly trained mercenary and she's older than she looks despite her size. She's a Huntress in her own right and so is Roman"

Blake's eyes widened

Jaune sighed "Blake, he's the most wanted man in Vale. He may act like some high class criminal but Roman has killed Hunters sent after him before. If you ever think someone like him would be taken down by a Huntress-in-training like you in a one on one fight then I overestimated your judgment."

Blake relinquished eye contact "remember this Blake, I know that you're not that dumb and I know that even if I told you not to get involved you'd still get involved because you somehow feel responsible for them but remember this"

Her gaze turned to his "there is someone else pulling the strings from behind the scenes and the White Fang aren't the bigger of the two. I know you think you would be able to handle it and you might if this was just the Fang but it's not. These people, whoever they may be are influential and have powerful allies who are all in the range of professional Hunters and if not then their close enough."

"Either way you're no match for them and Neopolitan is one of them, hell I'm absolutely certain she could take on your entire team and come out without a scratch on her. You still think you can handle it because if not then I underst-"

"I won't change my mind" she interrupted "the reason why I came to Beacon was so that I could make a difference for the Faunus. What would be the point if I turn back now?"

"Are you prepared to do what it takes?"

Blake paused "what do you mean?"

"I have a plan for tomorrow but you might not like it."

\

Tukson looked in the mirror to view his freshly shaved head with brown contact lens. He looked at the fake ID with the similar picture.

"You ready to go Tukson"

The Faunus jumped at his voice and spun around "I'm sorry, _Hazel_ "

"Geez have you ever heard of knocking?"

*Knock* *Knock*

The former store owner rolled his eyes "I'm ready, what about the store"

"Oh don't worry about that" he reassured "just worry about staying low"

Both men exited through the backdoor of the store. A few seconds afterwards a book exploded in a puff of smoke. 'Tukson' brushed his shirt off before hearing the chime of the door.

"Welcome to Tukson's book Trade where we have every book under the sun."

\

Escorting Tukson across the border to Vacuo had gone off without a hitch, much to his relief. Meanwhile the real Jaune got through school as usual although he had to apologize to his partner. As always Pyrrha accepted and it was water under the bridge, she didn't pry and he respected that.

The end of Semester Break was just around the corner, so they forgo training to study much to Ruby's chagrin. The little reaper wanted to do something fun but was outvoted 3-1. Team BYRN arrived and gave them a synopsis of how their day went. Apparently some monkey Faunus was being chased by the cops and Nora thought to 'help' them by catching a thief.

This, in turn, made the rest of their team chase after Nora to try and lower the collateral damage she wrought in the name of helping, except she never got the chance and instead ran into another girl. On the upside the girl managed to distract Nora long enough for the orange hair girl to forget about what she was doing. On the downside the girl was really creepy (Yang's words which were validated by Blake and Ren).

Not that Nora seemed to mind, she spent most of the day going around Vale with her new best friend. Blake and Yang left Ren alone with them the first chance he got- he was still throwing subtle glares at them every now and then.

Jaune enjoyed it, he really did, had no choice really. He's been on a lot of missions before and each time there was always a level of anxiety he had. Normally he could meditate on it but at Beacon he decided to listen into his friends as they talk.

' _I really need to show Blake some calming exercises'_ he thought watching the girl. The tension rolling off the girl was almost palpable.

Hopefully he won't have to after this next mission. If all goes according to plan he could maybe take a break and focus on the secondary mission, continue school and graduate peacefully…

Pshyeah right.

Knowing his luck his plan is going to turn into one big giant clusterf*ck

\

Neo was acting strange…well strange for her at least. Roman wasn't one to notice his partner's mood was, in fact he tried to avoid her at all if possible. Neo could be quite insufferable when not occupied by something. However this time he could really use her help well not her help but rather her presence.

The boss and her little cronies were paying them a visit and he would bet his all the his laundered money it had to do with the fact that they lost an entire warehouse filled with Dust and a few of the grunts. Where the grunts are concerned isn't a problem, there is always more where those came from.

The Dust not so much. It was a real pain in the ass to get that Dust and to lose it? well let's just say Roman is as pissed as he thinks she will be.

"Roman"

Ah speak of the devil in the red dress.

"Cinder and oh look you brought the kids. I didn't know it my turn for the custody"

Cinder Fall was not amused and light smoldering of her eyes as she strode towards him was evidence enough, Roman wisely did not speak.

"I gave you a simple task Roman"

Roman looked at her incredulously _'simple, SIMPLE!?'_ he had the right mind to smack her across the face with Melodic cudgel.

"And you assured me that it wouldn't be a problem to deliver the Dust"

"I didn't count on someone getting past our defenses" he argued "they, whoever they are they weren't cops or Hunters, it wasn't a raid. They wanted to destroy the Dust and from what I gathered they went through Neo and a couple grunts I had stationed around protecting it"

He could really use a smoke right now.

Normally Cinder wouldn't care for excuses but considered this, Roman may have been a cunning thief and a Huntsman in his own right but Neo was an entirely different story. She had the discourse of having a brief bout with the little monster and recognized her skill. How Roman managed to keep her loyal to him is a mystery.

Seeing her like this, it was obvious whatever she went through had actually managed to scare the girl. No matter how much Cinder tried to intimidate the girl she had never gotten that much of a reaction from her.

The fact of the matter is, if someone is strong enough to beat Neo and is out to disrupt her plans then they might do more damage to her operations than just _one_ warehouse.

"Can she identify them?" Cinder questioned. It's best they get rid of any obstacles, the plan is going to enter a critical phase and she can't have anyone disrupting it.

"Yeah, there were two of them. One was a girl dressed in all black wearing some kind of weird mask with markings on it in the shape of a cat. And the other one was a guy dressed the same but with a white Wolf mask"

Everyone noted how Neo shuddered at this description.

Mercury's eyes widened and it didn't go unnoticed by Emerald "you know who he's talking about?"

This caught both adult's attention "Mercury, do you know about"

The merc hesitated before he spoke "everyone in the assassin's business knows about _them_. They're an organization of elite underground assassins."

"What can you tell us about them?" Cinder questioned having never heard of these assassins before.

The only reason why he knew was because of his father. He also knew they were the cause of his sudden alcoholism and 'early retirement' before he killed him.

"That's just it, I can't, no one knows anything about them except they've been around for a long time. Like since before the wars and they have a 100% kill success."

"Wouldn't call it that since Neo's still alive"

"Not for long" the grey haired assassin muttered "if she's still alive, then they'll come after her and trust me they'll kill her"

Neo gripped her parasol tightly out of nervousness and even Roman felt…something for the girl though he didn't act upon it and instead made a snide remark.

"Does this mysterious underground group have a name?"

"They called themselves Anbu"

Emerald raised her eyebrow "Anbu?" what kind of name is that.

" **It stands for dark"** a deep voice echoed seemingly from the shadows alerting them to its presence.

Everyone looked towards the sound, everyone was thoroughly caught ff guard and tensed for a confrontation.

The voice spokeas it got closer **"the term itself is short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai which translates to Special Assassination and Tactical Squad."**

The figure walked into the light and stopped, revealing a man in a cloak hiding his features complete with a hood and an orange swirl pattern mask with a single hole to see through.

He gave them a once over **"calm yourselves, if I wanted you dead you would have been already"** he said as f it were a universal fact.

Cinder frowned as her eyes narrowed "and who might you be?"

His gaze turned to her and looked her from top to bottom **"I was sent by** _ **her"**_ Cinder's eyes widened **"to deal with your Anbu problem"** at this his gaze turned to Neo **"tell me girl"** he advanced towards her until he was right before her **"the one wearing the wolf mask"** he leant down so she could see past the hole in his mask **"do we have the same eye?"**

A slightly trembling Neo nodded slowly and the man chuckled before it turned into full blown laughter "I take it you know whom she is talking about?" Cinder asked with folded arms.

He turned to her **"yes"** he began walking away from them

"You never told us who you are?" she reminded.

He paused and turned to look her in the eyes, when he did surprise flashed across her face for a moment before it subsided **"you may call me Void"** the air around the hole in his mask distorted and the man was swallowed into his namesake.

There was a pregnant pause before Emerald spoke "what just happened?"

"We're leaving" Cinder spoke ignoring her words "and Roman do make sure this incident doesn't happen again" she didn't stop when she spoke and normally she would have made some gesture of a subtle threat but she couldn't she wasn't told about any of this.

She needed to speak to _her_.

\

Meanwhile 'Void' appeared in a swirl of distorted air. Once he stepped out his fist clenched, he had been searching for him for weeks in the badlands with no success. Now he knew where he had been all this time- a smile formed under the mask.

" **Let the games begin"**

 _To Be Continued_

 **Author's Notes: A special shoutout to ghost83 whose is the owner of the character Void. He PMed me a few months back he gave me a pitch and I accepted. Of course we ran back and forth with Void's role a bit but in the end we came to empasse. And to ghost, I hope I did your character good with his introduction. To the readers obviously with Void's relation to Tobi he will be a driving force in the story…more specifically next arc.**

 **That's right this is the last chapter of the second arc. There is actually a good explanation as to why I haven't updated** **in all this time. Long story short I lost interest, no its not writers block, there was originally supposed to be two more chapters but with my sudden disinterest I had to shorten it. I still have a grasp on what I want to have happening but it will be a very long time if my muse for Naruto doesn't come back soon.**

 **Sorry to leave on such a low note but..what can you do right? Anyway feel free to leave review, I know some of you aren't happy about it, me neither I envisioned so much more for the ending.**


	17. DISCONTINUED

**Damn this story is easily the best story I have published, which is such a shame because I just decided, today I am discontinuing it. Yep, that's right I am actually doing this, I've been thinking about this a lot actually. There was always something about this story that just didn't sit right with me and I just figured out why.**

 **I didn't appreciate Naruto.**

 **To be perfectly clear, I'm not a fanboy but that doesn't mean I hate the series. I guess I just don't..** _ **get it,**_ **enough to take it very seriously. And before you start pointing out that its fiction let me just say that all good writer's of Fanfiction have to have a certain degree of love for a series to the point where they could take it seriously since it helps write good scenarios...or maybe I'm just weird like that.**

 **As for me the main driving force behind this story was that I just thought Kakashi looked cool and wondered what it would be like if Jaune were in his shoes…that right there isn't a good basis for a story in the first place and (to me) the story ended up being a muddled mess. I literally had no plot to go on per se other than what happened in RWBY canon with some twists.**

 **To put it simply, I am not comfortable with the story and I'm going to try and start over.**

 **Don't know when that will be but it'll be a lot better than this (in my opinion) and considering how this is a relative success I have confidence in how to approach this the second time around.**

 **I'll still keep the story up until I get started and give you a heads up about that other story...or not. I'm really not too partial with getting involved in this fandom anymore and to tell you the truth Kakashi has lost his appeal to me. Whether or not I get my mojo working you'll be the first to know since i now go by anew rule to publishing stories.**

 **10 chapters up front!**

 **I will now leave you to mourn the loss**


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